Signs of Another Increase in Vegetable Prices Are Observed in Ukraine
Consumer prices for key vegetables in July of this year have decreased compared to June: white cabbage by 48.9%, onions by 34.2%, and carrots by 30.4%.
This is the most significant reduction among 33 food products tracked on a monthly basis by the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, according to a report by the National Scientific Center “Institute of Agrarian Economics.”
However, prices for these products significantly exceeded the December 2022 figures, particularly for onions by 17.9%, cabbage by 1.8 times, and carrots by 2.1 times.
Yuriy Lupenko, the director of the National Scientific Center “Institute of Agrarian Economics” and academician of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences, noted that considering the traditional trend of falling consumer prices for vegetables in the second half of the summer, further reductions in consumer prices for vegetables can be expected at the beginning of autumn. Last year, prices for cabbage decreased from July 2022 to January 2023, and for carrots, they dropped from August to December of the previous year.
“However, there are signs now of the cessation of the ongoing downward trend in prices. If, after a long period of decline (from August 2022 to May 2023), the growth in consumer prices for beets only resumed in June 2023 (+7.7%), in July, they increased by a record 3.1 times. Additionally, after a prolonged decline observed from August 2022 to May 2023, a record increase of 1.7 times in potato prices was recorded. All these factors suggest the possibility of price increases for other types of vegetables,” the scientist noted.
According to predictive estimates, due to the influence of rising energy prices, a significant decrease in food product prices, particularly in August, is unlikely to occur.