October 12 2006, 14:05

The prices for commercial apples are higher in Ukraine than in Poland

According to information of the Agricultural Marketing Project, this year the average purchase price for commercial apples increased 35-40% on the market of Ukraine comparing to the previous year. This fact is predetermined by long-term trends of apple production in the country (you can get the detailed information about the mentioned situation during the international conference "Fruits and Vegetables of Ukraine 2006. Open Market"). However, the price growth has not led to the increased apple supply to processing enterprises. It means that Ukraine can transfer from net exporter of apple concentrate into net importer of this commodity.

At the same time, the prices for commercial apples in Poland are still 30-35% lower comparing to the previous year despite of the price growth trend. Moreover, an average purchase price for commercial apple has exceeded the same figure in Poland for the first time during the recent years. The analysts of the Agricultural Marketing Project evaluate the price for commercial apple to be $0.12-0.13/kg in Ukraine and $0.1-0.11/kg in Poland. The price trends in Poland do not correspond to the situation in Western Europe where poor apple harvest resulted in the growth of average prices for commercial apples.

At the same time, Polish processors set up low purchase prices. They export a significant part of the produced apple concentrate, so the price trends can be explained by the market situation in China, the main competitor of Poland in this segment. A top record apple harvest is expected in China in 2006. As a result, the price for Chinese apple concentrate may decline. So, it seems that Polish processors do not hurry to raise purchase prices for apple in order to secure a certain margin for the time of inevitable price competition with China.