Some apple prices in Moldova unexpectedly dropped this week for the first time in 2024. According to EastFruit weekly wholesale price monitoring, apples of the old and outdated varieties, which were mostly grown for the Russian consumers, such as Idared and Renet Simirenko have fallen in price by 7-8% and were selling at 6.5-7.5 MDL/kg, which is equivalent to US $0.36-0.42/kg at the current exchange rate. Prices on average are still US $0.05-0.10/kg higher than at the same time in 2023. However, the emerging negative trend, as market players believe, will probably prevail.
Some Moldovan exporters link the decrease in purchase prices for apples of the mentioned varieties with the emerging reduction in the price of this product on the Russian market, as well as in Poland.
Moreover, Moldovan trading companies with the most developed post-harvest and marketing infrastructure do not allocate space for Idared and Renet Simirenko in their storage facilities. Consequently, such varieties are mostly stored at the low-tech fruit storage and as average air temperatures rise, quality of apples decreases. Therefore, farmers are forced to reduce prices in order to facilitate sales.
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It is also worth noting that processors resumed accepting apples from warehouses at the end of last month. According to their forecasts, supply of this raw material will intensify in the second half of February and, especially, in March 2024. It can be assumed that the largest share of apples that will be processed into apple juice concentrate will consist of Idared, Renet Simirenko, Florina and similar varieties.
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