Since the beginning of the current week, watermelon prices in Ukraine have already dropped by a third, according to analysts from the EastFruit. Improved weather conditions throughout almost the entire country have allowed Ukrainian watermelon producers to resume active harvesting, which has led to an increase in the supply of this product on the market. In addition to the south, farmers in the central and western regions of Ukraine, have also already begun mass harvesting of watermelon and melons, which added more pressure to the market.
Presently, watermelon prices on the domestic market have already dropped to 3-8 UAH/kg which is close to $0.07-0.19/kg at the current exchange rate. It is a whopping 30% drop comparted to the prices at the end of the previous week. Farmers explain the negative price dynamics by a sharp increase in the supply. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the bulk of the supply is in the segment of the large-size products, the demand for which is very weak locally and internationally. Wholesale companies and retail chains are reducing purchases of such watermelons to a minimum, citing extremely low retail sales rates.
If we compare the situation on the watermelon market in Ukraine with other countries in the project monitoring region, this product remains more accessible only in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan where such a low prices for these products are very common.
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It is worth noting that at the moment, watermelons in Ukraine are already on average 60% cheaper than at the beginning of August 2023. Moreover, industry experts do not predict a any noticeable improvement in the market situation. According to them, only owners of high-quality watermelons will be able to obtain good prices, as the supply of such products is very limited. At the same time, prices for watermelons weighing over 5 kg will continue to be low, since farmers will make concessions to buyers, thus trying to speed up the pace of sales of existing volumes of products.
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