Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Ukraine: further decrease in fruit and vegetable prices last week
Fruit-Inform Ukrainian fresh produce price index has fallen by another 8.7% in the past week (November 05-11, 2016), after a decrease of 3.8% a week before. As a result, fruit and vegetable prices have gone down by 12.5% over the past two weeks.
Thanks to a decrease of 15.1%, prices of traditional vegetables made the largest contribution to a fall in the price index last week. It should be noted that all categories of traditional vegetables have for the first time over long period become less expensive with the most rapid fall in prices observed in the white cabbage segment due to ongoing harvesting campaign. Potato prices went down by 7.4% due to the supply prevailing over demand.
It should also be noted that prices of all traditional vegetables and potatoes are too low now, and growers are not interested in sales. As a result, produce is sold either when strictly necessary, or in case of previously concluded contracts. Meanwhile, despite low prices, sales rates are moderate, as consumers do not make attempts to lay produce in store.
Prices of greenhouse vegetables also continued to fall mainly thanks to cucumbers. Low internal and external market demand kept on exerting pressure on the Ukrainian cucumber market against a background of higher shipments of less expensive cucumbers of Turkish origin, and domestic growers had to reduce their prices. Meanwhile, prices of greenhouse tomatoes changed slightly last week.
Fruit prices also were stable despite high competition in the Ukrainian citrus market. In the meantime, citrus suppliers are still thinking about their pre-holiday shipment volumes trying to avoid market overstocking.
Meanwhile, apple growers have already faced problems with sales. Apple prices are similar to those observed a year before. However, many growers say of significant losses due to higher production costs and devaluated national currency. Under those conditions, the apple business representatives are forced to search for new sales markets.