In Poland, root vegetables are usually more expensive in the spring, as only the autumn harvest, stored in cold stores, is available, so there is little supply on the market. However, producers don't remember prices as high as this year's.
"We have reached 5-6 zloty* sometimes, but this year, up to 9 zloty are being paid," said Dariusz Modzelewski, a producer from the province of Lublin. He did not invest himself in parsley and now he regrets that decision, but he will not be planting it this year either.
"The prices of parsley are quite irregular, because there are no regular recipients. One year there will be a shortage on the market, then in the next there will be too much, and producing it will no longer be worth it. I am afraid that now, given the high prices, everyone will plant parsley and next year there will be oversupply," explains the producer.
In the spring of last year, a kilogram of parsley root cost a maximum of about 6 zloty. Why is it so expensive this year? "It should be noted that in many regions of Poland, the root vegetable harvest of 2017 took place in unfavourable conditions, and experts predicted difficulties in the storage," explains Małgorzata Skoczewska, of the Warsaw Agro-Food Market in Bronisze.
"The roots were harvested during a period with high soil moisture, which may be conducive to more diseases during storage. Now, in May, seven months have passed since the harvest, and the supply of stored roots is decreasing, and thus the price increases," she said.
The price increase will soon be over. "The prices of vegetables from last year's production increase in the first half of the year, until the supply of young vegetables becomes significant. Then prices not only do not rise, but actually start to fall," explains Małgorzata Skoczewska.
The sharp increase in the price of parsley is, according to specialists, not only the result of bad harvests, but also increased demand.
*1 zloty = 0.23 Euro/ 0.28 US$
Source: money.pl