EastFruit presents its weekly review of trading activity in the fruit and vegetable sector, based on monitoring its own trade platforms on Telegram. This analysis covers the latest trends in demand and supply, price changes for key items across different countries, and updates on technological offerings within the industry.
Key Points from the Past Week:
- Onions remain the top-selling product.
- Carrot supply is low, leading to price increases.
- Sweet peppers return to the top sales.
- Beet sales begin in Egypt, garlic in Uzbekistan, and asparagus in Ukraine.
- Apple supply decreases for the third consecutive week.
- First offers of cherries and watermelons from Uzbekistan appear.
- In Ukraine, beet prices rise while cucumber prices fall.
- Uzbek farmers reduce prices for garden strawberries.
- Lemon prices increase again in Egypt.
This week’s analysis of the EastFruit trade platforms highlights notable shifts in the fruit and vegetable market. Despite a 15% drop in activity due to Easter holidays, participants from 12 countries actively engaged in trading. Onions continued to lead sales, while asparagus made its seasonal debut. Carrots, however, remained scarce, driving price increases.
Trading activity on the EastFruit Trade Platform declined by 15% this week, largely due to holiday slowdowns across the region. Participation from Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Egypt decreased significantly, while Iran and Turkey boosted their sales efforts. New sellers from Romania, the Czech Republic, and Greece joined the platform. The top five countries by offer volume were Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Iran, Egypt, and Poland.
Onions solidified their status as the platform’s top-selling product, with suppliers from seven countries contributing to the volume. New offers emerged from the Czech Republic and Kazakhstan, complementing the leading sellers from Ukraine and Uzbekistan. However, oversupply in Moldova raises concerns, with hundreds of tons of onions potentially facing disposal.
The supply of other “borscht set” vegetables—like beets and carrots—saw fewer sellers. Meanwhile, the market welcomed new harvest potatoes from Macedonia and beets from Egypt, alongside early greenhouse beets from Ukraine’s Nikolaev region. Chinese cabbage supply increased, and sweet peppers reclaimed a spot among top sales, fueled by robust trading from Iran and Turkey. Early garlic sales kicked off in Uzbekistan, and asparagus emerged as a new offering from Ukraine.
In the fruit segment, apples held their lead despite a third consecutive week of declining supply. Uzbekistan introduced the season’s first cherries and watermelons. However, Ukrainian fruit growers face setbacks, with frosts threatening up to 30% of their harvest.
Demand remained strong for “borscht set” vegetables and apples. German buyers actively sought suppliers of vegetables, fruits, and nuts.
Looking back to this time last year, onions also topped sales, with supply shifting from old stock to new harvests. Early potatoes from Ukraine and Romania entered the market at lower prices than today. Uzbek and Egyptian sellers increased early garlic offerings, while garden strawberries saw peak demand.
Price Trends by Country
Ukraine
Beet prices in Ukraine continued to climb, and limited high-quality carrot supply pushed prices up. Cucumber prices crashed due to surging local greenhouse output and Romanian imports. Tomatoes, sweet peppers, Chinese cabbage, and cauliflower also saw price drops, alongside radishes, zucchinis, dill, and salad greens. Garlic prices, however, rose further. Among fruits, apples, pears, and grapes increased in price, while the orange price range narrowed.
Uzbekistan
Early potato and tomato prices in Uzbekistan began to fall, but shrinking carrot supply drove prices upward. New harvest onion exports started, with prices stable from the prior week. Apples and pears became cheaper, and a growing supply of garden strawberries forced price reductions.
Egypt
After a dip last week, Egyptian lemon prices rebounded, joined by higher orange prices. The market saw initial price offers for new harvest beets and white cabbage.
Other Countries
Romania offered cucumbers at 0.50 €/kg EXW, while the Czech Republic priced onions between 0.58 and 0.70 €/kg EXW.
Technological Updates
Activity in the Fruittechnology group declined, driven by reduced sales of fruit and berry seedlings, fertilizers, and plant protection products. Conversely, offerings of vegetable seedlings and fruit and vegetable packaging grew. Available equipment and materials included greenhouse film, repair tape, agrofiber, pre-sale vegetable preparation tools, heating systems, and irrigation solutions. Uzbekistan promoted greenhouse construction services, while the Kanimekh district in Navoi region launched a groundbreaking artificial rain project to combat drought (source: EastFruit).
Linking to the Previous Report and Trend Analysis
Compared to the previous week’s review, where onion supply doubled and prices rose alongside the first local cherries, this week shows onions retaining their dominance despite lower overall activity. Cherries from Uzbekistan reinforce the early season trend noted previously, while new entries like asparagus and watermelons signal expanding variety.
In summary, the market remains dynamic: onions lead despite holiday slowdowns, carrot scarcity fuels price hikes, and seasonal offerings—such as asparagus, cherries, and watermelons—mark the transition to spring and summer produce. These trends build on last week’s insights, with diversification and supply challenges shaping the regional landscape.
For further details, see the previous report here. To explore effective promotion strategies on Telegram, visit this guide.
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