According to expert Denis Marchuk, vegetable prices will rise almost all spring. The situation in the market is still affected by the war and other factors.
Cheap vegetables in Ukraine are unlikely to appear on store shelves in the near future. Ukrainians will have to buy expensive products due to the shortage of some vegetables caused by the occupation in the south of the country, the energy crisis and some other factors. On March 23, 2023, Denis Marchuk, Deputy Chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Rada (VAR), told RBC-Ukraine.
According to him, vegetable prices in Ukraine increase every year in winter and early spring. Reason: climatic features.
“We have been sowing and reaping for a year and a half, but it is not always enough to meet the demand and we become dependent on imports.”
In 2023, the war and occupation factor was added to these annual factors.
Denis Marchuk, “Temporarily occupied Kherson and Zaporozhye regions are the main suppliers of vegetables and early vegetables. We must understand that about 35% of the market is filled from the Kherson region.”
At the same time, as the expert explains, the recent increase in vegetable prices is due to the fact that stocks are depleted by the end of the year and Ukraine has to import vegetables. At the same time, there are problems with onions in Europe this year due to the bad harvest in the Netherlands. A similar situation was observed, for example, in 2018.
In addition to the occupation of the vegetable market, several other factors are at play. For example, the weather in the fall.
“It was cool and rainy while we were picking and storing the vegetables, so we weren’t able to procure quality products from the conditional borscht set in sufficient quantities,” says Marchuk.
Although there are enough early vegetables for sale, usually grown in greenhouses, in Ukraine in March. But in 2023, these vegetables are not available, as the south of the Zaporozhye region is still under Russian control. Most of the greenhouses are concentrated in this region.
And in the conditions of the energy crisis, many greenhouses were abandoned, as it was quite expensive. They also delayed the cucumber seedlings due to a power outage. The accumulation in the program is 1-1.5 months. Therefore, greenhouse cucumbers will only be on the market in early April, while the cost of these vegetables will begin to decrease.
Things are worse for tomatoes, which require significant energy costs and lighting to grow. And import from Turkey is quite expensive. Therefore, now tomatoes are about 2-2.5 times more expensive than in 2022.
“And that unfortunately will continue until the open ground season, usually at this time of year,” Denis Marchuk summed up.
remember before Focus He said that before the Easter celebrations in Ukraine, price hikes are expected in meat, dairy products and eggs. And on March 10 it became known how food prices in Ukraine have changed over the past year. Core inflation fell from 0.7% in January and 0.8% in December 2022 to 0.5% in the last month of winter, while consumer prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages increased by 1.5%.
Source: Focus
John Holton is a seasoned author and journalist, known for his expertise in economics. He currently works as a writer at 24 news breaker, where he provides readers with in-depth analysis and commentary on the latest economic developments. With a background in finance and a talent for explaining complex economic concepts in a clear and accessible way, John’s writing is a must-read for anyone interested in staying informed about the economy.