Tomatoes are getting more expensive, cucumbers are getting cheaper: what’s behind market fluctuations in Ukraine
7 November 2025 13:11
EXCLUSIVE
In November, Ukrainian markets are experiencing an interesting trend: vegetable prices are behaving unpredictably. While cucumbers become cheaper, tomatoes, on the contrary, become more expensive. For many consumers, this seems paradoxical, as the harvest season is already over, and it would be logical to expect prices for all types of vegetables to rise. However, economic processes do not always conform to intuitive expectations – everything is decided by the balance of supply and demand. As Andriy Novak, an economic expert, explains in a commentary to "Komersant Ukrainian", the current fluctuations in the market are a direct consequence of how much produce is grown and how actively Ukrainians buy it.
“The fact that prices for tomatoes have risen and prices for cucumbers have fallen is explained solely by the presence or absence of demand. Obviously, there are a lot of offers for cucumbers now. In particular, we know that many people grow them in greenhouses. And so, especially in Kyiv, we see that people are actively buying them,” said Andrii Novak.
At the same time, he said, there are fewer tomatoes available, which naturally stimulates their price increase.
“As for tomatoes, there are fewer of them, the prices are higher, and, accordingly, Ukrainians are not actively buying them. Today, the supply of tomatoes from producers and traders is lower, which is why prices are rising,” summarized Andrii Novak.
As a reminder, Ukrainian greenhouse plants are currently selling cucumbers at an average price 12% higher than in the same period last year. At the same time, market players do not rule out the possibility of maintaining positive price trends in this segment in the future.
