According to EastFruit specialists, in the spring of 2022, the first large batches of early carrots became available in the wholesale markets of the capital of Uzbekistan on the 20th of March. In 2021, the first wholesale batches were available on the market since about mid-March.
However, as of the end of last week, there were still no large batches of early carrots in the wholesale markets of the capital, which means that they are entering the market with a significant delay. Meanwhile, last year’s carrots have been rising in price for the third week in a row – during this period wholesale prices increased 1.5 times and reached a record high level for at least the past few years.
According to EastFruit price monitoring, from March 17 to April 7, 2023, the average wholesale price for last year’s carrots (2022 harvest) in Uzbekistan increased from 4 000 to 6 000 UZS/kg (from $0.35 to $0.53) – by 50% in the last three weeks.
As of April 7, 2023, the average wholesale price for last year’s carrots was 20% higher than the maximum levels recorded in April-May 2022-2021. Over the past few years, the previous absolute record for last year’s carrots was recorded at the end of the first decade of June 2021, when the average wholesale price was 5 200 UZS ($0.49). However, the main reason for the sharp increase in carrot prices in Uzbekistan in April 2021 and record high levels in May-June 2021 was the anomalous price dynamics for carrots on the Russian market – the leading export destination for Uzbek carrots.
Unlike in 2021, external markets are not the main reason for the rapid growth in prices for last year’s carrots in Uzbekistan in the second half of March and the first ten days of April this year. According to preliminary official data, the volume of exports of fresh carrots from Uzbekistan from mid-March to the end of the first decade of April 2023 amounted to 3 300 tonnes, while in the same period last year, 2.6 times more carrots were exported. In the same period in 2021, exports were 3 times bigger.
Thus, the influence of external markets on such price growth over the past few weeks is not the key factor, and the price dynamics are largely shaped by the supply and demand ratio in the domestic market.
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