"This season's vegetable harvest has been 17 percent greater, but it should be noted that this increase is related to the very low production achieved in 2015, when the volume fell by 18 percent due to the drought in August. This year has basically brought a return to the level of 2014. The conditions have been favourable for virtually all crops during most of the season," said Dr Bozena Nosecka, from the Institute of Agricultural Economics and Food Economy of the National Research Institute.
Meanwhile, as regards fruit, the highest growth was recorded by raspberries, but overall the situation was the same as in the case of vegetables, with the drought in August taking a considerable toll on the harvest last year, followed by a rebound to the level achieved in 2014.
"This season is successful from the point of view of harvest volume, but from the point of view of prices, it is exactly the opposite," stated Bozena Nosecka.
She added that the purchase prices of vegetables, both of those for processing and for fresh consumption, were significantly lower compared to the very high levels reached last year, so it may seem that there has been a sharp fall, when all it has been is a simple return to the average prices of 2014..
In the case of fruit, only strawberries recorded a price increase, as the production volume was lower than in 2015. According to Bozena Nosecka, the good prices of strawberries for processing were also a direct result of the very low stocks of frozen strawberries in the European market.
Source: sadyogrody.pl
