Strawberry prices in Ukraine have been falling for the second week in a row

The wholesale market in Ukraine has seen a steady decline in selling prices for local strawberries, a trend that has continued for the second week in a row. Currently, domestic producers are willing to sell the berries at prices ranging from 120 to 200 hryvnias per kilogram, which is on average 21% cheaper than the previous week’s figures. 

Analysts cite the rapid increase in fresh produce shipments from the country’s southern regions, coupled with relatively subdued consumer demand, as the main factor behind this trend. Since strawberries are a perishable product, sellers are forced to quickly lower their prices.

An additional factor putting pressure on the market is the active import of cheaper foreign berries, which are currently being imported en masse into Ukraine from Greece, Turkey, and Spain, and whose price usually does not exceed 200 hryvnias per kilogram. Despite the current price drop, the average price of Ukrainian strawberries in early June is still about 11% higher than during the same period last year. In other words, most key market players agree that starting next week, prices will drop even more significantly thanks to the start of the mass harvest of open-field strawberries.

At the largest trading venues, particularly at Kyiv’s “Stolychny” market, certain price benchmarks for buyers were established in early June. Average loose berries from Zakarpattia are offered at 190 hryvnias per kilogram, while the premium domestic “Rumba” variety is priced between 200 and 230 hryvnias, depending on packaging in Euro-crates. Premium Zhytomyr strawberries from the “Frutko” brand cost buyers about the same, around 230 hryvnias per kilogram, while Odessa strawberries in Euro-crates are sold for 200 hryvnias. High-quality imported produce from Greece is priced at an average of 180 hryvnias per kilogram.

Market operators emphasize the high volatility and dynamism of current prices. Weather conditions and the volume of daily deliveries cause prices to fluctuate daily: a batch that initially wasn’t in demand at 140 hryvnias per kilogram may be snapped up by consumers the next day at 170 hryvnias. Experts predict that the price situation will finally stabilize and level out only after the bulk of the open-field harvest from all regions of Ukraine enters the market en masse.