In the coming months, the price of potatoes and onions will continue to rise in the Czech Republic due to low yields and unfavorable weather during harvesting. People are advised to stock up on these products for the winter. “Prices will definitely go up this year. In the spring months, prices can be quite high,” said Petr Hanka, chairman of the Union of Vegetable Growers of the Czech Republic and Moravia at the opening of the autumn fruit and vegetable fair Flora Olomouc, reports portal Aroundprague.cz.
According to Hanka, this year's onion harvest was affected by drought, which affected its quality and yield, which is the lowest in Europe.
Rising prices can be expected for table potatoes. While early potatoes this year had a relatively high yield and good quality, farmers recorded a lower yield of late potatoes. In addition, the harvest was affected by rainy weather, and long-term storage of wet tubers is difficult. “Therefore, potatoes are now entering the market in large quantities, and I expect that this year the warehouses will receive significantly lower volumes than in previous years,” Khanka said.
According to the Czech Statistical Office, farmers' prices for onions rose by almost 42% year-on-year in August this year, and for potatoes by 12%. For example, a greengrocer in Olomouc-Holic is now selling a kilogram of onion for 14,9 kroons, in August last year it cost 9,9 kroons. People pay 9,9 crowns per kilogram of potatoes suitable for storage. Last November, a kilogram of potatoes could be bought at this greengrocer's for 4,9 crowns.
According to Hanka, late potatoes can now be bought at ridiculously low prices in domestic supermarkets and hypermarkets. “This week, a kilogram of potatoes can be bought for eight kroons, but this is only due to massive discounts, because retail chains are currently buying potatoes one or two kroons more and selling them so cheaply,” Hanka said.
According to the Czech Statistical Office, the total area of potato fields in the Czech Republic has decreased by about 5% this year to 21 hectares. Last year, producers reduced the area under potatoes by 680% compared to the previous year. The sale of potatoes for food has been hit hard by the coronavirus epidemic over the past two years, with restaurants and canteens closed.