The level of minimum wholesale prices for potatoes in January changes weekly in the range of 4-4.5 MDL/kg ($0.22-0.25/kg). Members of the Association of Potato Growers of Moldova believe that price fluctuations depend on the weather: warming causes an increase in demand and sales of potatoes in wholesale and retail markets. A cold snap has the opposite effect forcing consumers to buy more expensive potatoes in supermarkets and markets near houses.
According to weather forecasts, it will get colder this week. Therefore, there is reason to expect a slight increase in “market” prices for potatoes. By the way, wholesale prices for potatoes in MDL are 15-18% higher in January 2022 compared to January 2021. In dollar terms, the increase is no more than 1-3%.
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According to the association’s experts, in addition to the unstable and low demand for potatoes, their price level is still under high pressure from potatoes kept in storages. It is impossible to estimate how many potatoes are stored by rural households and small farms. Taking into account that the supply of low and average quality potatoes is large, there are still quite a few of them left. And the difference between small wholesale and retail prices in urban open markets is negligible.
At the same time, retail prices for potatoes in most supermarkets have not changed since the end of December. They are higher than in the urban open markets by 50% to 100%.
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