High prices of zucchinis and eggplants.

The supply of domestic zucchinis has been decreasing for many weeks, resulting in a significant increase in their prices. In wholesale trade, the prices of this vegetable have been rising almost continuously since the end of the first decade of September, and during this period, the average price of domestic zucchinis has increased by over 300 percent. Currently, the prices of zucchinis from domestic cultivation on a larger scale in wholesale trade range from 8.00 to 11.00 PLN/kg.

In at least the last 5 years, this is a record-breaking end to the season in terms of prices. We had similar zucchini prices in October 2022, but back then the average wholesale price did not exceed 9.00 PLN/kg on a larger scale. This year, we briefly reached an average of 10.50 PLN/kg.

Now it is 9.50 PLN/kg, as the stabilization of prices of domestic zucchinis is influenced by the appearance of imports. However, zucchinis imported from Spain are not much cheaper. Their supply, at least for now, remains limited, and prices in the Polish wholesale market range from 10.00 to 12.00 PLN/kg. For comparison, at the beginning of the import season a year ago, it was only 4.50 PLN/kg. Two years ago, it was 10.00 PLN/kg, as at that time (like now) Spain had supply issues.

The situation is similar with eggplants. The domestic season is also coming to an end, leading to a decrease in the supply of these vegetables, resulting in higher prices and an increase in imports. Currently, eggplant prices on a slightly larger scale in wholesale markets range from 8.50 to 9.50 PLN/kg. For these vegetables, the price trend has been upward since the end of August, pushing up domestic eggplant prices by "only" 100 percent so far. However, this was enough to make current prices record-high in the past 5 years.

In this case as well, we see the mitigating effect of import activation on domestic prices. Eggplants imported from Spain are currently offered in the Polish wholesale market at 8.00-9.00 PLN/kg on a larger scale. For comparison, the start of the 2023/2024 season had an average price of 5.50 PLN/kg, while two years ago, it was as high as 9.50 PLN/kg, meaning more expensive than now.