August 16 2006, 11:26

Supermarkets and catering facilities are rapidly growing produce sales channel - Poltava wholesalers

According to evaluations of both national and foreign retailers, Poltava is a rather perspective market for convenience goods and foods, produce commodities in particular.

It was considered not long ago, that local population mostly buy fruits and vegetables on market or grow these commodities at the own houseplots. There is a clear trend observed now: people give up self-production - they prefer buying fruits and vegetables in modern retail chains. This fact is confirmed by vigorous development of retail chains (6 entities) and public catering facilities (183 enterprises). The quantity of retail chains has grown threefold (2 to 6). Wholesale companies are developing simultaneously: they supply produce commodities to supermarkets. To the present moment, according to evaluations of the Agricultural Marketing Project, six companies work in Poltava: they form an assortment and supply vegetables and fruits to retail trade.

According to information provided by supermarket managers who are responsible for produce purchase, an average supermarket sells weekly up to 10 tons of produce in season. The commodities are mostly supplied by wholesale companies or large producers (it concerns greenhouse produce, for example).

One of the companies - wholesale traders of produce commodities - informed Agricultural Marketing Project that this year the company has doubled supplies to the existing and newly created chains, as well as to catering facilities. At the present moment the enterprise daily sells 7-8 tons of the produce, one third of the commodities goes to catering industry.

Traditional vegetables and fruits meet the greatest demand (tomato, cucumber, cabbage, potato, carrot, red beets). At the same time, there is a trend of demand growth, especially from the side of catering enterprise, for such exotic for Poltava vegetables as lettuce, broccoli, kohlrabi, celery root, and leek. These vegetables are exported to Ukraine as a rule. However, some professional producers are starting to grow non-traditional vegetables; they independently supply these commodities to catering enterprises.