Potato prices in Ukraine are rising, while its quality is falling

24 January 12:10

Ukraine has seen a new increase in potato prices after a short period of stability. This is stated in the report of the EastFruit project, according to Komersant ukrainskyi.

According to the project’s analysts, the main reason for the rise in prices was a reduction in the supply of this product on the domestic market. Many local farmers, who are unable to store their crops for a long time, completed their sales in the first half of the season.

Amid the reduced supply, potato prices have risen to UAH 20-30 per kilogram (USD 0.48-0.71 per kilogram) since the beginning of the week, up 12% from the previous week. This jump has caused concern among representatives of wholesale companies, who complain about the lack of sufficient quality products.

Читайте нас у Telegram: головні новини коротко

Quality is deteriorating

At the same time, there is another problem: while the price of potatoes is rising, their quality is only decreasing. Farmers attribute this to the poor quality of the crop, which in turn is due to unfavorable weather conditions during harvest. In addition, many producers in 2024 used medium or low quality planting material, which also affected the harvest.

Prolonged rains had a negative impact not only on the appearance of potatoes but also on their ability to be stored for a long time. Thus, the poor quality of potatoes only makes them more expensive because they are not as well stored.

As of today, potato prices in Ukraine are on average 16% higher than in January last year. Market experts warn that the rise in prices could accelerate in the coming weeks, given forecasts of a possible shortage of quality products.

The market situation signals the need to review approaches to potato storage and production, as consumers are increasingly faced with the problem of choosing a quality product at an affordable price.

Читайте нас у Telegram: головні новини коротко

Остафійчук Ярослав
Editor