The significant increase in fuel and electricity costs expected after the New Year has led most Polish producers of greenhouse vegetables to abandon the winter production of tomatoes and cucumbers this season, EastFruit project analysts report with reference to the fresh-market website. However, pre-Christmas high demand for greenhouse vegetables and rising prices for imports led to the fact that some Polish producers resumed production in the second half of December and started supplying the market with a limited volume of vegetables from local plants.
Wholesale prices for Polish greenhouse cucumbers are currently 13.00-16.00 PLN/kg ($2.95-3.63/kg). At the same time, such a high level of prices for local cucumbers is possible due to high prices for imported ones. Wholesale prices for cucumbers from Spain on the Polish market are 8.00-12.00 PLN/kg ($1.82-2.72/kg), which is one-third more expensive than in the same period last year. However, one should not forget that European producers in most cases refused to grow greenhouse vegetables in winter due to high energy costs.
As for the tomato market, there are high prices for imports, too. A year ago, the average price for imported tomatoes from Spain was 6.25 PLN/kg ($1.42/kg), and current prices are 6.00-12.00 PLN/kg ($1.36-2.72/kg), which is on average 44% more expensive than last year.
Thus, high import prices and the increase in demand before Christmas in the tomato market created good prerequisites for local production, despite the rather high prices for Polish tomatoes. In wholesale, red tomatoes from local greenhouses are offered from 15.00 to 17.00 PLN/kg ($3.40-3.86/kg).
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