This year Belarus for the first time so massively imports potatoes for the needs of the domestic market during the harvest. A lot of supplies are now coming from Ukraine.
According to EastFruit analysts, over the past four weeks, the difference in wholesale prices for potatoes on the domestic markets of Belarus and Ukraine has doubled, making export more profitable. Prices for potatoes in Ukraine have not changed since July, frozen at around $ 0,22 per kg, while in Belarus the price level has already reached $ 0,36 per kg. Thus, at the moment, Belarusian consumers pay exactly twice as much for 1 kg of potatoes than at the same time in 2020.
The growing demand and prices for potatoes on the Russian market is another factor stimulating the supply of potatoes from Ukraine to Belarus. Over the past four weeks, prices for potatoes in Russia have increased by 42%, and the difference in prices between the markets of Ukraine and the Russian Federation already exceeds 100%.
In Ukraine, potatoes are now twice as cheap as in Russia. In Belarus, potatoes are also cheaper than in Russia, therefore, despite the ongoing import, Belarus at the same time exports potatoes to the Russian market.
In Moldova, which usually imported potatoes from Belarus, Ukraine and Russia itself, prices for this product are now extremely low. Therefore, this year Moldova is exporting potatoes to Belarus and Russia, although the volume of supplies is not very large.