Due to the heat and lack of moisture: Potato prices in Ukraine are expected to rise this fall
30 July 18:12
A prolonged heat wave and lack of rainfall have negatively affected potato yields in Ukraine, which could lead to a significant increase in prices this fall, according to EastFruit, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
As Mykola Furdyga, director of the Institute of Potato Growing at the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, noted in his column for AgroTimes, most regions of the country experienced a severe moisture deficit during the potato budding and flowering stages. At the Institute, where about 60 varieties of the crop are grown, yields are currently about 30% below last year’s levels.
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According to the scientist, one of the main causes was prolonged periods of abnormal heat. When the air temperature exceeded 37 °C for more than five consecutive days, the plants used most of their moisture for cooling rather than tuber formation. Even on irrigated plots, six days of heat stress led to a yield loss of about 7 metric tons per hectare.
According to Mykola Furdyga, as early as late October or early November, potato prices could rise by about 30% for produce sold directly from the field. Potatoes from storage are projected to increase in price by 12–15%.
At the same time, the market is currently seeing the opposite trend. Due to the active harvest of early potatoes and farmers’ desire to sell their crop quickly, purchase prices have temporarily dropped to 6.5–7 UAH/kg.
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