Are Gala apples prices dropping?

This year's Gala apple harvest started significantly earlier - not only in comparison to last year's delayed harvest for contrast, but also in relation to the typical schedule for this variety. And it must be admitted that this accelerated start of the campaign has translated into current supply realities.

That is to say, there are still not a lot of Gala apples on the market. There is not even talk yet of full-scale procurement of these apples. But there is a clear increase in supply visible. And that is enough for the prices of this variety in the Polish wholesale market to have already reacted. The direction of these changes is obvious in this situation - downwards.

Furthermore, the scale of changes in wholesale Gala prices may cause concern among producers. Currently, the purchase prices for this variety are mostly 2.00-2.60 PLN/kg (0.47-0.61 EUR/kg) for size 70+ and 1.70-2.00 PLN/kg (0.40-0.47 EUR/kg) for size 65+/68+. The prices at the upper end of these ranges have the nicest fruits of striped varieties.

These are prices lower than at the beginning of the 2023/2024 season. And yet there are supposed to be fewer apples in the current campaign. Where does this unfavorable trend come from? It seems likely that this year a large number of producers wanted to enter the market with Gala as early as possible to receive a premium for being first. As a result, we have a relatively rapid and significant increase in current supply. As a consequence, prices have fallen. Over the two-week duration of the current campaign, Gala 70+ has become over 2 percent cheaper. In year-on-year comparison, it is 2 percent cheaper. But compared to the beginning of the 2022 season, it is 53 percent more expensive.