Over the past week, wholesale prices for yellow and red greenhouse bell peppers in Uzbekistan have risen sharply. As a result of their rapid increase over the past three months, prices for bell peppers have caught up with prices for meat. The main reason is the huge loss of bell pepper crops in greenhouses during the January abnormal cold, as it was with other greenhouse vegetables, EastFruit analysts say.
In the supermarkets of the capital of Uzbekistan, retail prices for yellow greenhouse bell peppers of the popular California variety are about 80 000 UZS/kg ($ 7.0), and prices for red greenhouse bell peppers range from 80 000 to 100 000 UZS/kg (from $ 7.00). 0 to $8.8). Prices for green greenhouse bell peppers range from 65 000 to 95 000 UZS/kg (from $5.7 to $8.3) depending on the variety.
For comparison, bone-in beef can be bought in the same supermarkets at about 80 000 UZS/kg ($7.0), and boneless beef at about 97 000 UZS/kg ($8.5) – about the same price as greenhouse bell peppers. Notably, meat is the basic and perhaps the most expensive ingredient in most Uzbek dishes.
According to EastFruit price monitoring, the average wholesale price for yellow greenhouse bell peppers in Uzbekistan increased from 58 000 to 78 000 UZS/kg (from $5.1 to $6.8) from 24 to 31 March 2023, i.e. by 34% in just one week. This jump in prices was the highest rate of weekly growth since the beginning of the year. Given the growing trend in the dynamics of wholesale prices, the average wholesale price for bell peppers has increased by more than 1.5 times over the past month, and by 2.2 times since the beginning of the year!
As of March 31, 2023, the average wholesale price for greenhouse yellow peppers in Uzbekistan was almost 2 times higher than on the same date last year and 1.6 times higher than on the same date in 2021.
The next leader in terms of weekly price growth is the greenhouse red bell pepper. From 24 to 31 March 2023, its average wholesale price increased from 60 000 to 72 000 UZS/kg (from $5.3 to $6.3) – by 20% in a week. Over the past month, the average wholesale price for greenhouse red peppers has increased by almost 1.5 times, and by 2.4 times since the beginning of the year!
As of March 31, 2023, the average wholesale price for greenhouse red bell peppers in Uzbekistan was 1.8 times higher than on the same date in 2021-2022.
Wholesale prices for greenhouse green bell peppers have remained stable over the past three weeks, but they have been steadily rising from the beginning of January to the end of the first decade of March this year. In January-February 2023, the average wholesale prices for green bell peppers were at least 1.5 times higher than in the same period in 2020-2022.
As of March 31, 2023, the average wholesale price for green greenhouse bell peppers in Uzbekistan was almost 3 times higher than on the same date last year and 31% higher than on the same date in 2021.
The main reason for the record high prices for greenhouse bell peppers in Uzbekistan is the same as for greenhouse tomatoes – January frosts were the main catalyst for growth in greenhouse vegetable prices. According to market participants, many greenhouses lost crops due to abnormally cold weather in Uzbekistan in the second decade of January this year. During frosts, the gas pressure in many greenhouse complexes decreased significantly, since during this period there was a shortage of natural gas throughout the country. Accordingly, the temperature in these greenhouses dropped sharply – much below the norms for plants, which led to their loss.
The anomalous cold completely receded only by the end of January and the beginning of February, when day and night positive temperatures were established. Since bell peppers have a rather long vegetative period, there is still a very limited supply on the domestic market.
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