In Moldova, the season of Golden Delicious apples started with a low price – 4-6 MDL/kg ($0.23-0.34/kg). At the beginning of October last year, the level of wholesale prices for this variety was significantly higher – 6-8 MDL/kg ($0.35-0.47/kg). Let’s figure out the reasons for this.
In an interview with EastFruit, the heads of horticultural enterprises noted several factors that put pressure on the price of apples of this variety at the beginning of the season. First and foremost, higher harvest of Golden Delicious apples in 2021 compared to last year. It is too early to talk about numbers, but judging by the farms that have completed harvesting, the increase is 20-30% or more.
Growers say that Golden Delicious apples are mostly large in size this year. However, many have defects, as a result of changes in humidity and temperature. Thus, traders accept apples not directly from the orchards, but mainly from the sorting and packaging facilities of agricultural enterprises, as they did when purchasing summer orchard apples. Prices for Golden Delicious apples of medium quality for current consumption and short-term storage are set at a level of Gala apple prices and on average 1 MDL/kg higher than the starting prices for Idared apples. The supply of mid and late season apples on the Moldovan market exceeds demand.
The second reason for the modest purchase prices for Golden Delicious apples at the beginning of the season is that they are usually for ,ong term storage, participants of the Moldovan fruit market say. As it was in the previous three years, demand and prices for Moldovan apples of this variety in Russia increase in the second half of January. Taking into account the rise in energy prices, storage costs will be high. Thus, traders tend to buy only high-quality fruits and at the lowest price.
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