On the Moldovan fruit and vegetable market, for more than a month, the level of average wholesale prices for yellow onions has not fallen below 8 MDL/kg ($0.41/kg). The prices in August were almost twice as high as last year ($0.23/kg) and more than twice (0.18/kg) higher than in a no less dry August 2020.
The harvesting campaign is already at 75% and there is a lot of medium quality in the country, but the price for it still remains at the maximum level of the five-year period. According to vegetable market participants, the main reason for this situation is the fact that the main share of marketable onions does not reach the wholesale market, as they are immediately sold in the field.
At the same time, most of the commercially produced onion do not reach storage facilities, that means it is not deposited in a strategic reserve for the winter. So, we can assume that there will be no cheap locally produced onions in Moldova for a very long time – at least until the next season.
A significant share of Moldovan marketable onions is sent literally from the fields to Ukraine, where prices, although they have begun to decline, are still much higher ($0.55/kg).
Source: east-fruit.com