EastFruit monitoring data shows that average wholesale price of apple varieties “Idared” and “Simirenko” in the Moldovan market slightly increased up to 4.5 MDL/kg ($0.25/kg) during the second week of December. The price levels of apples of all other more expensive varieties almost did not change.
Traders explain the current situation by the fact that many of them had not yet started selling “expensive varieties” of apples to Russia in December. They say the reason is the demand on the Russian market for apples from Moldova at no more than 5.5 MDL/kg ($0.31/kg, with packaging). Only the cheapest Moldovan apples of export-grade quality, in particular, “Idared” and “Simirenko”, can barely go under this price level.
It is worth recalling that some Moldovan agricultural enterprises, trying to complete work in the orchards before the cold snap and precipitation at the end of the season stored apple in the cold storage facilities without sortingthem. Apparently, under the pressure of the demand from apple juice concentrate producers, the sorting is underway in the fruit storage facilities in December. Apples of poor quality are being processed, those of better quality are sold to exporters who are forced to buy cheap apples now in order not to stop December supplies to the Russian market. Probably, this explains the small increase in average wholesale prices for Idared and Simirenko in Moldova.
As experts of agricultural growers’ organizations note, they expected a traditional decline in the rate of apple exports in the second half of December, since end consumers (in Moldova, Russia, and in other post-Soviet countries) switch to citrus fruits at this time. Nevertheless, many associations have called for an increase in the supply of apples from the 2021 harvest before the winter holidays, since it is not clear when their demand and prices will begin to rise next year. It is quite possible that growers and traders will try to maintain the pace of December apple exports by exporting Idared and Simirenko varieties.
Representatives of agricultural growers’ associations hope that the volume of apple exports from Moldova will reach at least 20 thousand tonnes in December this year. That is, it will not fall below the November level (and will almost double the supply in December 2020).
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