On 30 December 2016, the wholesale price of greenhouse-grown cucumbers reached 43-45 hryvnia (1.6-1.7 USD/kg) at Ukraine's Suvar market, i.e. 25-30 percent more expensive than a week earlier. In the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, the price stood at 50-70 hryvnia per kilo (1.8-2.5 USD/kg).
Tetyana Hetyman, Eastern European fruit and vegetable market expert, said that the rise in prices of imported greenhouse vegetables, especially that of cucumbers, is a common phenomenon before the New Year holidays. In any case, the price increase recorded during that week is not only due to the demand in Ukraine. Cucumbers are normally imported from Turkey and Tetyana Hetyman reported that, in the last few days, the weather has deteriorated in that country, taking a toll on the cucumber supply.
As a result of this, the price of cucumbers has been rapidly increasing, and not only in Ukraine, but also in Turkey. While a week ago, the average price of cucumbers stood at 0.9-1 dollars per kilo, traders are currently buying the vegetable from Turkey for 1.2-1.3 dollars per kilo, as reported by Oleksandr Palij, of Suvar market.
Hetyman stressed that, compared to December 2015, the average wholesale price of greenhouse-grown cucumbers has fallen. The main reason for this is the Russian ban on Turkish cucumbers a year ago, which has forced Turkish suppliers to look for alternative markets in neighbouring countries.
Source: karpatinfo.net