April 3 2006, 10:22

Potato is cheapening in Ukraine

Potato price decrease was recorded in the retail trade by "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" weekly journal past week; the trend was observed in the wholesale trade too. Past week the prices on wholesale potato sets remained stable on the level of $0.45-0.49/kg in the majority of Ukrainian regions; today on Kyiv wholesale produce market FARMER (Troyeschina rayon) the price of small wholesale potato sets decreased down to $0.39-0.43/kg, or 10-15% compared to the previous Friday.

The specialists think that the price decrease was predetermined by the farms which desire to sell potato reserves before the newly harvested potato comes on market. The price decrease initially happened in retail trade; it means that small farms "lost their temper" to stand such a slow sales rates. They often supply potato directly to the retail market omitting the wholesale link. And, large traders had to follow the formed retail price.

"To the present moment it is hard to predict the further development of potato price situation. Still we can suppose that the variant of the further price decrease or its stabilization sounds more realistic. The price will hardly get back to the previous level or increase", Maxim Yenchenko says, the Market Information Specialist of the Agricultural Marketing Project. The specialists stresses that it is true for Ukrainian potato; the imported potato price is not sure to follow the mentioned trend, though there are large volumes of this produce on Ukrainian market now.