New realities of Ukraine: potatoes are becoming a delicacy
Kyiv, February 11 (PolitNavigator, Oleksandr Semenyuta) – Fruits and vegetables are becoming delicacies for impoverished Ukrainian consumers. According to APK-Inform, prices for these products have risen almost weekly for the past three months, reports Delovaya Stolitsa.
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Since the beginning of February, vegetables have risen in price by 1,4%, and some items by 30-40%. The leaders in the price race were, in particular, cabbage (plus 33% - up to 7 UAH/kg) and onions (plus 44% - up to 5-7 UAH/kg).
At first glance, there is no logical explanation for the “price rally,” at least in relation to domestic vegetables. Their harvest in 2014 not only did not decrease, but, on the contrary, increased. At the same time, the Russian market, which “ate” at least 20-30% of our vegetable harvest, was closed to farmers.
But, according to experts, the Russian market has been replaced by the European one. Due to the sharp devaluation of the hryvnia, Ukrainian vegetables are becoming more attractive in euro terms, which allows traders to increase supplies to the EU, in particular Poland. Accordingly, entrepreneurs are purchasing more and more of the same onions and cabbage on the domestic market and are ready to increase their prices.
However, if citizens continue to eat vegetables, despite the rise in price, then with fruits things are different. The share of fruits in the menu of the average Ukrainian has decreased by at least 10%, according to UCAB surveys. This same year, experts predict an even greater decline, because imported fruits are becoming “golden”, so Ukrainians are increasingly content with only apples and bananas, relegating other fruits to the “holiday” category.
New Realities of Ukraine : Potatoes Becoming a Delicacy