Hot topic - Gala apples and their prices
Gala and its prices are currently perhaps the hottest topic in the Polish apple industry. It even surpasses the issue of manipulation of apple purchase prices for processing. The direction in which the dessert Gala prices have changed and the speed at which it happened are causing concern among orchard owners.
And this direction has been clearly downward in the past two weeks. Purchase prices for Gala apples with a caliber of 70+ have dropped by an average of one quarter during this period. Currently, the most common prices are 2.00-2.50 PLN/kg (0.47-0.58 EUR/kg), depending on the place, quality, and above all, the region of the country. Smaller Gala apples are being bought for 1.70 PLN/kg (0.40 EUR/kg). What is even more worrying is that the current prices of these apples are now lower (a difference of about one Polish zloty per kilogram or 0.23 EUR/kg) than in the same period last season. It is difficult for orchard owners harvesting Gala apples to be satisfied in such a situation.
One of the main reasons for this development was undoubtedly the very early start of this year's Gala harvest. Although generally the yields of this variety will not be high this season, and there are reports of quality issues coming from the orchards (all consequences of the hot weather), at this very moment, we have a relatively high supply of these apples in the Polish wholesale market.
A market that is still immature commercially for such quantities of Gala, especially in the export sector. Therefore, we have a situation where supply grew early and fairly rapidly, while demand clearly lagged behind. It is no wonder that prices felt the impact. But will this be the case in the coming weeks and months?
It seems that the crisis described may be temporary. When normal exports start, Gala will benefit the most. As mentioned earlier, this year's yields will not bring a significant volume of available fruit. Additionally, it is known that apple harvests in Europe will generally be smaller than last year, which will facilitate the competitiveness of the Polish offer in the international market. Therefore, it can be expected that Gala prices will stabilize.