Buckwheat price is rising: two key reasons for the rise
31 October 2025 07:20
Buckwheat prices have gone up again. According to market data, over the past month and a half, the grain has risen in price by 10-15%, and the upward trend continues. "Komersant Ukrainian" found out about the main reasons for the price increase and the risks to the quality of the new harvest from Sergey Gromovoy, director of the International Buckwheat Association.
Two key reasons for the rise in buckwheat prices
Over the past month and a half, buckwheat has risen in price. There are two reasons for this. First, retail chains are running out of last year’s grain stocks. Second, producers have raised purchase prices for new grain.
The stocks of cereals from the last harvest are running out… Farmers have raised the price of new grain from this harvest. For scale: if last year the farm price was 14-15 thousand UAH per ton, the new harvest is 20-21 thousand UAH per ton. This corresponds to an approximate increase of ~40% at the level of raw materials,” says Gromovyi.
According to him, the average price of cereals on the shelves of the chains is 37-38 UAH today and tends to rise to 40-42 UAH. That is, the consumer price reacts inertially to changes in the procurement price.
Quality will determine further market dynamics
Moisture during harvesting is a risk not only for volumes, but also for food quality and grain safety. Both processing and price scenarios in the coming weeks will depend on this.
Today we need to talk about quality rather than price. Most of the buckwheat was harvested during the wet season, and the quality of the grain in the owner’s pantry is not fully understood. So the question is about quality. And this quality can also affect the price. Because if it is not of good quality, the owners will try to sell it as soon as possible. And massively,” predicts the director of the International Buckwheat Association.
“The opposite scenario is true if a significant amount of grain is of high quality.
If we managed to harvest dry grain, and high-quality, not damaged, and not infected with bacteria, then the price may grow a little faster,” explains Sergey Gromovoy.
Thus, in the coming months, the supply and demand schedule will be determined not only by the harvest, but primarily by the condition of the grain.
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Will buckwheat price overcome the psychological limit of 50 UAH?
Despite the current upward trend, experts do not expect uncontrolled price increases.
If the domestic price exceeds 50 hryvnias, imports of buckwheat from Russia will begin. “What we call ‘Kazakh buckwheat’… In fact, it is Russian-made buckwheat. And in Russia, prices are much cheaper, so this will balance the level of price increase,” says Hromovyi.
He adds:
“The price is not expected to exceed 50 UAH before the New Year.
In practice, this means that external supply can work as a safeguard against excessive price increases if the domestic market heats up. At the same time, import sensitivity depends on logistics, regulatory conditions, and actual price differences.
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