Dessert raspberries are once again experiencing a price collapse.
Almost exactly a year ago, we wrote about the collapse of wholesale prices for dessert raspberries in Poland (here). A year has passed, we have a new season, and unfortunately, we must report the same thing again. Raspberry prices in Polish wholesale have once again suffered a steep collapse. It is even worse than last year, although it should be noted that over the past five years there was one season when the average price of Polish dessert raspberries on the fresh-market.pl editorial monitoring on June 26 was even worse. We see this on our chart.
This rating is from the disastrous 2019 season. On June 26, 2019, the average was just 12.00 PLN/kg. Now, the range of selling prices in large wholesale is 12.00-20.00 PLN/kg, depending on quality, packaging, and region of the country. This gives an average of 16.00 PLN/kg, which is 33 percent higher than that worst rating.
This is little consolation for raspberry producers in Poland. Currently, prices are lower than the average of the previous five years (32.50 PLN/kg) by 32 percent and there is no indication that it will get better. Although there was a moment of hope. During the period from June 19-21, the average price strengthened, but it was not a lasting trend.
The question is, what will happen next with the prices of dessert raspberries in Poland? Could it be as bad as in the aforementioned 2019 season? Then, during the summer peak supply period, the average price dropped below the 10.00 PLN/kg mark. Also last year, the price collapse was very large and within a few days, the average price dropped from 29.00 PLN/kg to just 13.50 PLN/kg (from June 26 to 29). What will happen this time? The likelihood that raspberry price ratings will remain in a downward trend is still significant. But there is one factor that might be comforting for producers, if it actually works.
The current season is greatly accelerated. We had an earlier start, so the peak supply of "summer" raspberry should be earlier. Normally, it occurs in the first decade of July. If this year we have reached this peak now, then in a week it might suddenly turn out that the current price rating of raspberries is significantly higher than the five-year average.