Cucumbers and greens lead in price increases: how vegetable and fruit prices changed in Ukraine over the week

The vegetable segment: cucumbers and greens lead in price increases

According to data from the EastFruit trading platform, prices for a range of vegetables, fruits and berries changed in Ukraine over the past week. The most noticeable increases, according to the review, were seen in cucumbers, hot peppers, green onions and parsley. At the same time, the supply of cucumbers on the platform shrank, while potatoes, onions and beets were offered less frequently. Sweet corn, napa cabbage and cauliflower were also actively sold. Tomatoes and sweet peppers for processing continued to be in demand, whereas demand for onions, conversely, rose; other vegetables included in the so-called "borscht set" were also purchased quite actively.

Tomatoes and cabbage: rising supply and falling prices for some items

In the vegetable segment, tomatoes were again the leader in the number of listings — their supply grew. Platform participants sold sweet peppers more often, and the supply of white cabbage doubled over the week. In price terms, a notable decline was seen in napa cabbage — down to 48–55 hryvnia per kilogram — and cauliflower — down to 40–50 hryvnia per kilogram. Carrots and onions also continued to fall in price. The price of potatoes did not change over the week and stood at 11–13 hryvnia per kilogram.

The fruit market: apples lead, persimmons from Uzbekistan appear for the first time

Apples were the leader in the number of listings on the platform last week: their sales continue to be ramped up by participants from Ukraine and Uzbekistan, and offers of apples from Turkey appeared for the first time. The price of apples remained at 16–40 hryvnia per kilogram. In addition, offers of persimmons from Uzbekistan appeared on the platform for the first time. The number of plum sellers grew by a factor of 1.5, nectarines were offered more often than the week before, while the supply of grapes shrank. Prices for oranges, lemons, bananas and pomegranates remained unchanged.

Contradictory data

The direction of the price movement for cucumbers is interpreted differently in various sources, and this requires separate clarification. On the one hand, the EastFruit review and a number of publications record that cucumbers became one of the leaders in price increases over the week, and the reduction in their supply is linked, among other things, to a shortage of supplies from Turkey. On the other hand, some publications point to the opposite trend — a fall in cucumber prices against a backdrop of low demand. Thus, for this particular vegetable the versions from sources diverge: some data indicate a rise, some — a fall, and readers should bear this inconsistency in mind when assessing the overall picture.

Context: localized changes in retail chains and limits on basic products

Against the backdrop of wholesale shifts, changes in retail remain localized. It was previously reported that after the weekend, prices for socially significant products in Ukrainian supermarkets changed locally: eggs and bread rose the most, while the cost of buckwheat and sunflower oil remained relatively stable. The "Auchan" chain introduced limits on the quantity of basic products in a single receipt — up to 6 items or 6 kg, and up to 6 dozens of eggs; the company explained this not as a shortage but as a distribution of retail and wholesale purchases. Similar limits were also introduced at ATB.