Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Ukraine: watermelon prices reach record high
Watermelon prices have been rapidly going up in Ukraine and reached their record high, according to Fruit-Inform.
Now prices of high-quality watermelons are varying between UAH 4.00-4.50/kg (EUR 0.13-0.15/kg), and nonstandard produce is offered at least at UAH 2.50/kg (EUR 0.08/kg). As a result, prices have increased by 60-70% since the beginning of this week.
It should also be noted that current prices of Ukrainian watermelons are averagely 6.3 times as high as in the same period of the previous season and have already reached their record high. For comparison, the previous maximum was registered in August 2014, when prices did not exceed UAH 2.30/kg.
Such high prices are connected with a significant decrease in Ukrainian watermelon production due to abnormally hot second half of summer. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the price growth has already affected the demand. Exporters are not interested in buying watermelons at current prices, and internal market sales rates also went down. In addition, buyers are often unsatisfied with the quality of offered produce.