Potato prices may rise sharply this fall due to the heat
The prolonged abnormal heat and lack of rainfall in Ukraine have negatively impacted the potato harvest. As a result, a decline in production is expected as early as this fall, which could lead to a significant increase in wholesale and retail prices.
Experts estimate that potato prices could rise by about 30% if weather conditions do not improve in the near future. The greatest pressure on the market stems from lower yields in certain regions of the country.
According to forecasts, consumers will feel the effects of the heat most acutely in the fall, when the bulk of the new harvest hits the market.
In most regions of the country, there was a severe moisture deficit during the critical budding and flowering stages of the crop.
According to the Institute, which grows about 60 potato varieties, current yield figures are approximately 30% lower than last year’s.
Impact of Drought and Heat
The key reason for the decline in yields was abnormal heat stress. When temperatures exceeded +37 °C for more than five consecutive days, the plants’ photosynthetic surface simply ceased to function. The plants used all their water not to build up the crop, but to cool themselves and survive.
Even the use of irrigation systems failed to fully offset the effects of this weather factor.
Six days of heat stress resulted in a loss of about 7 metric tons of yield per hectare, even on irrigated land.
What Will Happen to Prices in the Fall
According to the expert’s estimates, a price adjustment is expected in late October or early November. The price of potatoes sold directly from the field may rise by approximately 30%.
At the same time, potatoes from specialized storage facilities will see a more moderate increase—at the level of 12–15%.
Currently, the market is experiencing a temporary reversal in the trend. Due to the active harvesting phase of early varieties and farmers’ desire to quickly sell their harvest, purchase prices have temporarily dropped to the range of 6.5–7 UAH/kg.
This was reported by Mykola Furdyga, director of the Institute of Potato Growing at the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, in his column for AgroTimes.
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