Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Watermelon prices halve in Russia
Watermelon prices have been rapidly going down in Russia. According to Fruit-Inform, they have fallen by 44-50% over the past week.
Now growers from the southern regions of Russia are ready to offer their watermelons at RUB 5-9/kg (USD 0.09-0.15/kg), and prices of low-quality produce stand a RUB 4/kg (USD 0.07/kg). For comparison, prices were not lower than RUB 10/kg (USD 0.17/kg).
Farmers are forced to reduce their prices due to several factors. In the first instance, negative trend is backed by a seasonal decrease in supply. Moreover, the share of nonstandard watermelons is rather large due to rainy weather conditions. In addition, prices are under the pressure of rather moderate sales rates.
As a result, current prices of Russian watermelons are averagely 25% lower year-on-year, and growers expect them to continue to go down in the nearest time.