Will farmers increase the area of onions and carrots?

Will the vegetable market collapse in the summer?

The onion is still going strong. Its price went up recently. It is followed by carrots. Cabbage also decided to get into the top three. Two ingredients of borscht: potatoes and beets are lagging behind. Meanwhile, in the south, fields are being actively de-mined, as the Ministry of Agriculture says the priority is to expand the area under Ukranian vegetables, fill the market with products and stabilize prices. It’s a pity that officials can only state problems, not work proactively to prevent food crises. But that’s a slightly different story. Today’s topic is borsch. Shall we talk about it?

Impressions of an average consumer

I enter the vegetable section of the nearest store with fear and curiosity. It’s the first days of March 2023. Onions have passed 50 UAH/kg, carrots are gaining momentum. Cabbage has doubled in price in a few days.

Prices are no longer shocking, because the increase was expected in the fall. In the supermarket, I saw imported onions from the Netherlands. The price is 62.3 UAH/kg. Translated into simple language, it means only one thing. All the vegetables will be pulled up a little bit. Then, as they say, the war will show the plan.

Friends from the Poltava region reported that onions are already on their shelves at 80 UAH/kg.

As of the end of March, onion prices were 55-80 UAH per kilogram in most stores.

Vegetable market analysts say that onions are a problem all over the world. In 2022, the supply on the domestic market was supported by imports. A record 105 thousand tons of onions were imported. For the first time in the country’s history, in just two months of 2023, 19 thousand tons of golden onions were imported. But it is imported at completely different prices. It is possible to import from New Zealand, but it is expensive. Central Asia has begun to gradually lift the export bans imposed in January, but logistics from there will be expensive as well. In addition, we will have to fight for onions. After all, demand in Europe exceeds supply.

I decided to ask my friends, who now live in different parts of the EU due to circumstances, what the prices for onions are there.

The capital of France offers 1.5-kilogram nets for 1.5 EUR in supermarkets. But in Bavaria, you can find ordinary onions in the store for 1.99 EUR, also in a net, but weighing 750 grams. In another German state, a supermarket has onion nets weighing 1.5 kg each. The price is 2.99 EUR. A little more expensive than in Paris. However, Ukrainians abroad say that onions at least differ in size. Smaller ones are cheaper, larger ones are more expensive.

The trend of rising prices for onions is observed in some European countries. The onion harvest in Europe, according to the Dutch Association of Onion Growers, has decreased by one million tons. This is a significant disadvantage.

However, let’s return to the domestic market and look at other ingredients of traditional Ukrainian borscht.

Carrots have doubled in price since the beginning of the year. The average price is 44 hryvnias per kilogram.

Cabbage jumped from 12 to 22.

Beetroot is around 10 hryvnias and potatoes are 10-15.

I’m not talking about tomatoes, because housewives use tomato paste, sauces, and dressings in winter.

Source: Agroperspectiva.ru