Cucumbers - will there be fewer of them this year?

The past weeks have not been conducive to good and efficient growth of field cucumbers. High temperatures, sudden rainfall, storms, and even hailstorms - all these factors have negatively affected the yield and quality of field cucumbers. Producers report a very high pressure of pests and diseases on these crops.

This situation has not left the prices of cucumbers in the Polish wholesale market unaffected. Both field cucumbers and greenhouse cucumbers are affected. In terms of field crops, earlier on, the issue was lower demand in processing, as many facilities were focused on processing something else. However, now the interest in industrial cucumbers is growing, overlapping with a decrease in current supply. Will prices rise then?

Wholesale prices for field cucumbers are already not low. When it comes to cucumbers for pickling, they are usually bought at prices ranging from 3.50-4.00 PLN/kg, depending on the region of the country, although in regions with slightly better yields, prices start at 2.80 PLN/kg (central Poland). The situation is similar with cucumbers for pickling. The usual price range is 3.00-3.50 PLN/kg, but in some places, prices are around 2.00-2.50 PLN/kg. Prices are not expected to go lower, precisely due to the negative impact of the weather on current supply.

And greenhouse cucumbers? In this segment of the cucumber market, we saw price drops in the first week of July, which was in line with the seasonality of these vegetables. July marks the beginning of the peak phase in greenhouse cucumber production. However, the recent days, due to the weather, disrupted this long-term trend and prices rose. Currently, the selling prices of greenhouse cucumbers in large wholesale markets are mostly in the range of 3.50-4.50 PLN/kg (0.82-1.06 EUR/kg), which is 60 percent higher than a week ago.

These prices are very dependent on current weather conditions, so they can drop as quickly as they rise. This week, it will still be hot and stormy, so there is little hope for an improvement in the supply of field cucumbers, which will have a stabilizing effect on greenhouse cucumber prices. Of course, such weather conditions are also not favorable for the production of greenhouse cucumbers.