November 15 2006, 10:57

Carrot price is 1.5 times lower this year than in 2005 in Ukraine

According to the data of the wholesale price monitoring on the produce markets of Ukraine, at the present moment the prices for carrot are considerably lower than the prices recorded at the same period of time past year. The smallest price spread (comparing to the previous year) is observed in the areas of the increased demand. For example, carrot is cheaper only 7-15% in Kyiv comparing to the data of 2005. At the same time, the price is 50% lower this year on the South of Ukraine where a large quantity of carrot has been produced this year. Now the producers sell large shipments of the commodity for $0.13-0.17/kg. The prices for carrot fluctuate $0.15/kg to $0.2/kg on the wholesale markets on the South of Ukraine, and the prices are up to $0.29/kg in Kyiv. The carrot quality is good.

But, relatively low price for carrot in November does not guarantee the same price correlation in 3-5 months when carrot is sold out of the storages. Despite of the fact that in November 2004 carrot cost thrice as low than in November 2005, in May 2005 the remnants of the harvest 2004 were sold out for the same prices as the harvest 2005 was sold in May 2006.

The storage capacities have significantly increased since the previous year, and the carrot harvest reached its record this year. Taking into account these facts, the carrot supply in February-May 2007 will be sufficient. We hope that no pressure on prices will be observed this year; the pressure was notable in two previous years. However, the price growth is undoubtedly prognosed, but the experts think the prices are unlikely to reach the levels observed at the same period of time in 2005 and 2006.