Late last week, the Ukrainian market was marked by messages from cherry producers about low prices and problems with sales. However, it is unclear whether the cherry market in Ukraine is that close to a catastrophe, how low the prices are and whether exports can help the country.
The current cherries season in Ukraine started late, at the beginning of June, due to the cold spring, but the average price corresponded to that of the last year. However, prices went down then. This disappointed producers that had hoped last year’s scenario would repeat this season.
As the season progressed, the price difference was increasing in comparison with 2020. The situation leveled off only in the beginning of July, when the average price stopped at around UAH 40/kg ($ 1.50/kg), which corresponded to the price on the same date last year.
Due to rainy weather, the market shows a significant variation in the quality of cherries and thus a variation in prices. In the southern regions, wholesale prices for low quality cherries may go down.
Moreover, if we compare prices to those in the previous years, it turns out that cherries in 2021 are not so cheap. Over the past five years, they were more expensive only last year, and four previous years much lower prices were recorded.
Source: east-fruit.com
