According to raspberry market participants, over the weekend, the lower limit of purchase prices for raspberries from the small growers for the first time fell below the psychological barrier of 50 US cents per kg. In the raspberry growing regions prices reached UAH 18/kg ($0.49), and there were even the first attempts to reduce prices down to UAH 17/kg ($0.46). However, at this price, according to our information, there has not been a significant flow of people willing to deliver raspberries for processing.
Prices in the upper price segment have also changed over the weekend. At the beginning of the week large suppliers managed to sell “class A” raspberries at prices of up to 35 UAH/kg ($0.95) but by the end of the week, the upper purchase bar for many processors dropped to 30 UAH/kg ($0.81).
By the way, according to the freezers, in raspberries delivered by small growers, if they took a good care of the plantation, up to 70% of berries could qualify for the “class A” quality. Thus, when purchasing such raspberries for 18 UAH/kg ($0.49), the true cost of a high-quality product is only 25 UAH/kg ($0.68). Add to this some revenue that one could get from the remaining 30% and the economics of purchasing such berries will look very good!
Although, of course, there are additional administrative costs and the VAT, which many small growers do not pay. However, it is obvious that no one will completely exclude raspberries from small growers from the procurement plan if prices for it continue to be at a such a low level.
Serbian and Polish growers, who boycott what they consider low procurement prices for raspberries by their freezers, should understand that Ukraine is currently building a very competitive market position and if they want to stay in the market, they need to be realistic about the raw material prices.
Growing demand from the processors would have been a positive signal for the market under normal circumstances, however, a record raspberry harvest in Ukraine is unlikely to stabilize or support the current price level. Moreover, the summer raspberry season is just beginning, and Ukraine harvests the bulk of the raspberry crop from August till October, because remontant varieties account for around 65-70% of the total raspberry area in Ukraine.
For more information: east-fruit.com