The beginning of April was marked by an increase in prices for potatoes and carrots in most countries, except Moldova, where potatoes became cheaper
According to EastFruit, the markets for potatoes and carrots this week in most countries monitored by the project were characterized by an increase in product prices. For example, potatoes skyrocketed in Poland and Georgia, while carrot prices rose in Tajikistan, Russia, Ukraine and Georgia. At the same time, the situation in Moldova was an exception, since potatoes fell in price in this country over the week.
Potato market situation in Ukraine и of Russia remained stable. Despite the general reduction in the supply of crop products in 2018, producers were not able to raise prices due to the presence of large volumes of low quality potatoes. Moreover, such trends have dominated the markets of these countries for a long time. Thus, the average price of potatoes in Ukraine has not practically changed since mid-February ($ 0,24 / kg), and the figure of $ 0,17 / kg in Russia has remained relevant since mid-March.
At the same time, in Georgia и Poland opposite trends were observed, and potatoes literally soared in price in these markets over the week. Thus, relying on stable demand and a shortage of products, sellers from both countries were able to almost double the price of last year's products in Georgia to $ 0,45 / kg, and in Poland to raise it by a third to $ 0,35 / kg.
Meanwhile, the Moldova, as mentioned earlier, was the only country in the EastFruit monitoring region where potatoes fell 11% on average to $ 0,26 / kg. Concerning Tajikistan, here these products rose slightly to $ 0,17 / kg.
Early potatoes
The potato market in most countries has remained relatively stable for the time being, but traders have already noted some recovery in demand for early products. So, in the Russian Federation, the price range for potato production in Egypt ranged from $ 0,61-0,77 / kg. Egypt also remained a major supplier of early products to Georgia. On average, Egyptian potatoes were offered on the Georgian market at $ 0,56 / kg, and the first deliveries of domestic products of a new crop were expected closer to the end of this month. Meanwhile, in Poland, early potato production in Cyprus was $ 0,63-0,77 / kg.
Unlike the potato market, the price of carrots in of Russia и Ukraine reached $ 0,28 / kg this week, up 5% and 16%, respectively. Participants in both the Russian and Ukrainian markets reported a significant reduction in the supply of quality products and, relying on stable demand, were able to increase their prices. It should be noted that carrots in Russia have been steadily rising in price since the second half of March, and the average price for this period has already grown by 22%.
Situation in Moldova и Poland remained relatively stable. At the same time, on the Moldovan market, the average price of carrots has been at the level of $ 0,32-0,34 / kg at least since the beginning of January, and in Poland at the level of $ 0,41-0,42 / kg since the beginning of February.
Meanwhile in Georgia и Tajikistan carrots went up by the end of the week. In the Georgian market, the average price of imported carrots for the week increased by 7%, again reaching $ 0,59 / kg. In turn, Tajikistan turned out to be the record holder for the growth rate of carrot prices: the average price literally doubled in just a week, as local farmers completed the harvest of their products and switched to selling products from storage.