Low potato import prices puts huge pressure on Ukrainian growers

Low potato import prices have put pressure on the domestic Ukrainian supplies, pushing down the prices to as low as €0.80-0.96/kg over the weekend. Tetiana Getman from Info-Shuvar said that this is most likely just the beginning, with prices historically dropping an additional 2-3 times during the second half of May. To make matters worse, there are still large amounts of last season's potatoes in the market.

Market experts are afraid that domestic farmers could have some very serious sales problems. Those who failed to get proper certification before 30 April, will not be allowed to export to the EU, which includes Belarus. However, many of the potato growers who applied for the certification on time also expanded their cultivation area, so Oksana Ruzhenkova, executive director of the Ukrainian Association of Potato Producers (UAPP), said that this will equal out export quantities and no decline is expected.

"Traditionally, we start exporting early potatoes to Belarus in late May. This year, producers needed to get the proper certificates, at as of the beginning of May, only a few farmers applied for the certificates. This means that significant amounts of early potatoes exported to Belarus in the previous years will now remain in the domestic market ", says Mykola Gordiychuk, vice president of the Ukrainian Association of Potato Producers.

For more information:
Tetiana Getman
Info Shuvar
Tel: +38 (093) 719-92-74
Email: t.getman@shuvar.com
info.shuvar.com