Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Onion cheapened much on the wholesale markets of Ukraine
According to the results of the daily price monitoring on the wholesale markets of Ukraine, past week the significant price decrease on bulb onion was observed. A week ago the minimum wholesale price on onion amounted to USD $ 0.28-0.32/kg; at the present moment on some markets onion can be purchased on USD $ 0.19-0.23/kg. The average wholesale price on bulb onion decreased on 20% during a week and is USD $ 0.25/kg now.
The experts think that this price decrease is the consequence of the excessive onion supply caused by the producers' efforts to sell the onion reserves before the new season. According to the evaluations of Agricultural Marketing Project, in 2004 the bulb onion production was 25-30% greater than in 2003, when onion production was insufficient to satisfy the demand, so the prices were very high. As the producers informed, onion of 2004 harvest was not of a high quality; the storage losses were quite great, and it initiated the high price on onion also in the season 2004/2005. However, to the opinion of the specialists, at this moment there is an excessive amount of onion in the storages, so the efforts to sell it may possibly lead to some price decrease.
The leading onion producers in Ukraine are Kherson, Odesa, Donetsk oblasts; the insufficient volumes for inner needs are produced in the western and central oblasts of Ukraine.