Since the beginning of this week, many wholesale companies have switched almost entirely to purchasing fresh onions from Ukrainian farms.
In the last week of May, onion prices started to decrease gradually. Reason: Sale of a new onion crop, according to EastFruit analysts.
It has been noted that currently, onion sales prices are in the range of 40-46 UAH/kg ($1.09-1.26/kg), which is 11% cheaper on average compared to a week ago.
On the market, mostly onions of the 2022 harvest are imported. Prices of imported products last year are slightly higher.
Since the beginning of this week, many wholesale companies have switched almost entirely to purchasing new-crop onions from Ukrainian farms. Last year, during this period, onion sales prices in Ukraine were on average 1.6 times lower than before.
By the way, according to the data of the Ministry of Finance, the cost of onions in some supermarket chains on Wednesday, May 31, 2023:
- Metro — 61.90 UAH/kg;
- Novus — 69.99 UAH/kg;
- Varus — 59.90 UAH/kg;
- Megamarket — 79.90 UAH/kg.
What happened to onion prices?
In early 2023, the cost of onions was on average four times higher than last year. So on the Ukrainian market and in stores in the winter onions were traded at 30-35 UAH per kg.
According to analysts of the EastFruit project, the price tag of 35 hryvnia per kilogram is a record price tag in the history of Ukraine’s independence. At the same time, the high cost of onions is predicted to continue in the future against the backdrop of hype and constant power outages. By mid-April 2023, Ukrainian farmers were ready to ship onions for less than 38-45 UAH/kg.
Important
Why are vegetables getting more expensive?
According to the State Statistics Service, vegetables have increased in price by 21.2 percent in two months of 2023, becoming the main driver of inflation. Inna Salo, Head of the Pricing and Agricultural Market Department of the National Research Center “Institute of Agricultural Economics”, explains the increase in fruit and vegetable prices due to the seasonal factor and Lent accompanied by Lent. increasing demand for vegetables and fruits. It states the following actual prices for this group of goods:
- white cabbage: UAH 21.14 per kg (+ 61.4% from the beginning of the year);
- potatoes: UAH 10.04 per kg (+2.8%);
- onions: UAH 55.79 per kg (+61.7%);
- carrots: 44.07 UAH per kg (+72.4%);
- beets: 10.48 UAH per kg (-12.4%);
- apples: UAH 14.68 per kg (+26.2%);
- mandarin: UAH 72.26/kg (+8.7%);
- bananas: 70.42 UAH per kg (+1.7%);
- oranges: 58.40 UAH/kg (-10.0%);
- lemon: 61.30 UAH/kg (-4.2%).
Remember, we’ve learned before about which vegetables and why we shouldn’t expect price cuts this season. Basically, the high prices for vegetables are a consequence of the Russian occupation of the regions of Ukraine where greens are most actively grown.
Source: Focus
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