Potato prices in Ukraine continue to rise rapidly, which is a concern for both consumers and producers. The main reason for this rise in price is the limited volume of sales by farmers who prefer to store the bulk of the harvest.
This was reported by URA-Inform, citing analysts at EastFruit.
Currently, wholesale prices for potatoes fluctuate between 15 and 20 hryvnia per kilogram, which is 18% higher than the previous week.
Producers note that demand for potatoes significantly exceeds supply. Farmers decide to store maximum volumes of quality products, expecting higher prices in the future. In their opinion, the market situation will continue to deteriorate, which will lead to further growth in vegetable prices.
In addition, the market is facing problems caused by a sharp decline in potato production in the northern and central regions of Ukraine due to drought. In the same period last year, potato prices were 65% lower, which underlines the scale of the changes that have occurred this season. Currently, wholesale prices for potatoes are the highest in the last seven years.
Market operators attribute the current situation to unfavorable weather conditions, which have negatively affected the yield. Particularly hot and dry weather in July affected plant vegetation, which in turn affected the overall volume of potato production in the country.
Also, we recall that experts predicted how the possible loss of Pokrovsk would hit the economy of the whole of Ukraine.