Ukrainian greenhouse vegetables 'beat' Turkey

Today many companies working with Ukrainian greenhouses owners ask themselves, what is the real situation in their clients’ business? It is very important question, because every B2B company depends on the effectiveness of its customers. But among the Ukrainian agrarians there is a tradition to say that the situation is worth than it actually is. There are some reasons of it: from the fear “not to jinx it” to the anxiety about the tax inspector visit. So to understand the real situation in Ukrainian greenhouse business you should find the objective indicator. The Organizing Committee of Greenhouse Industry Fair supposes that this indicator is the quantity and prices for Ukrainian greenhouse products on the local market.

Prices at Novus this weekend.

This weekend they have investigated the quantity and prices of Ukrainian greenhouse vegetables in 3 supermarkets: Auchan, Novus and MegaMarket. According to the pictures they made, there is no deficit of Ukrainian greenhouse tomatoes and pepper. If we analyze the prices, we will see, that the smallest difference in prices between Ukrainian and foreign products is in Auchan supermarket (Ukrainian tomatoes are on 15% cheaper than Spanish ones). That can be explained by exclusive conditions of Spanish suppliers for international retailer. But if we will compare prices for pepper the difference is more impressive: Ukrainian pepper is on 33% cheaper.

Prices at MegaMarket

Comparing prices on greenhouse tomatoes in MegaMarket and Novus we can see that Ukrainian greenhouse products have even more attractive prices. Ukrainian tomatoes are on 53% cheaper than Spanish ones in MegaMarket, and Ukrainian plum tomatoes are cheaper on 47% in Novus. To make this difference not so shocking, distributors of Spanish and other foreign greenhouse products publish prices for 250 or 500 g, but not per kilo (!).

Prices at Auchan this weekend

Even more important factor is the price for greenhouse products on Ukrainian wholesale and farmers markets in all regions. According to the data of Research Institute of productivity of Agroindustrial Complex on 9.12.2014 average prices on 583 local markets in Ukraine amounted to 17,48 UAH ($1,07) per kilo for greenhouse tomatoes and 19,57 UAH ($1,2) per kilo for greenhouse cucumbers. That explains why Turkish tomatoes disappeared from many channels of the Ukrainian retail. In 2013 Turkish tomatoes and cucumbers were considered a major threat for Ukrainian greenhouse business. In May 2014 the prices were quite comparable: 22 UAH for Ukrainian tomatoes and 19 UAH for Turkish ones. But if we evaluate the quality of Turkish tomatoes for that price, we will understand that we are talking about those ones that will be sold by the producer for $200-300 per ton. In Ukraine such tomatoes called “plastic” due to non-Ukrainian Quality Standards. Now these “plastic tomatoes” are noncompetitive: due to the growth of US dollars their price will be around 25 UAH ($1,58), that is on 40-45% is higher than average price.

So we can make some useful conclusions:

1. Ukrainian greenhouse products have won the local market due to the low prices in local currency (UAH) and have received considerable revenue.

2. Before next season all greenhouse producers will face another problem: a twofold price growth in UAH equivalent on imported seeds, planting material, plant protection products and other.

3. That will provoke the demand on cheaper analogues made in Ukraine and other countries. Now the Ukrainian market can be won by flexible prices policy. That is why we forecast the strengthening of local producers especially those who produce structural elements and components.

4. The best opportunities will have companies who will unite high technologies, inexpensive materials and low labor cost.

5. So now it is time to find Ukrainian partners and together invest in production forces on Ukrainian territory. In this case potential benefits are worth the risk.

By :
Oksana Berezovskaya
Head of the Organizing Committee of the Ukrainian Greenhouse Association
e-mail: ovb@s-team.kiev.ua
tel.: +380 44 383-18-54
mob.: +380 67 509-56-61
www.greenhouse.in.ua