January 10 2007, 15:25

Ukraine can start importing onion to Poland in 2007 again - experts' opinion

The preliminary assessment of the perspectives of bulb onion production in Ukraine and in Poland in 2007 indicates a high probability of Ukraine's status shift from net exporter into net importer.

Onion prices have beaten all records 2006; they continue growing higher in Poland. As a result, the producers plan to extend onion cultivation areas. And, newcomers will undoubtedly be involved in this business; they will grow onion for the first time. If there are no significant natural disasters, onion production will have a chance to reach a top record in Poland. Inevitably, the prices for this product will dramatically decline. The prices for onion sometimes decreased down to $0.05-0.06/kg in the years of onion overproduction in Poland.

At the same time, this year Ukrainian farmers have faced the problem to sell onion for the first time. The situation is not improved even by export shipments of onion to Poland and other EU countries, as well as to Russia and Belarus. The prices remain the same relatively low. Moreover, the experts admit the possibility that the onion prices will go down by the end of the sales season.

To the opinion of Andriy Yarmak, the Deputy Director of the Agricultural Marketing Project, the increase of export shipments of quality onion from Ukraine to Poland is possible in April-June, as the onion prices can reach its peak in May 2007 in Poland. Moreover, early onion can also be successfully exported from Ukraine to Poland and to other EU countries in June-July 2007.

At the same time, A. Yarmak mentions that onion production remained quite profitable in 2006 in Ukraine even despite of the price decrease for this product. This fact let him speak on the perspectives of onion production to decrease 10-15% in 2007. If this forecast is confirmed, onion production will stay relatively high in Ukraine, but the prices won't go significantly up. The price growth for onion in 2007 will be restrained by a high probability of the pressure caused by contraband shipments of cheap onion from Poland in September-October 2007.

It is worth mentioning that the production of at once several types of vegetables can rapidly grow in Poland in 2007. They are white cabbage, carrot, table beet and potato. The first forecast of fruit and vegetable production in Ukraine done by the analysts of "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal will be published in April issues of the periodical.