Potato price collapse
The last few days have brought a significant change in the domestic wholesale potato market. Previously, the prices of these vegetables had started to stabilize, a consequence of unfavorable weather conditions that had a negative impact on the size of the harvest. However, the lower yields did not deter everyone from returning to a path of rapid price decline.
In the Sieradz region, a bit more potatoes have recently been entering the market as the digging there has picked up pace. This is, in fact, one of the key regions in Poland for the potato industry. The "Potato Basin" and it is not uncommon for the nationwide trend of falling potato prices to start there. Most likely, this will be the case again now.
In the Sieradz region, potato prices in large wholesale have plummeted to the level of 0.60-0.67 PLN/kg (0.14-0.16 EUR/kg), even though not long ago they were above 1 PLN/kg (0.23 EUR/kg) there. And not only in large wholesale, but also in small. There are reports that at the Łódź Zjazdowa market, producers were giving away potatoes for 7 PLN (1.63 EUR) per 15 kg sack (which is only 0.47 PLN/kg or 0.11 EUR/kg). This is a real price disaster.
For now, the upper limit of selling prices in large wholesale for yellow and red potatoes is still 1.30 PLN/kg (0.30 EUR/kg), as in other regions of the country, there has not been such a collapse as in the Łódź region. But it is probably only a matter of time now. Only the weather can hinder this trend. As seen in the chart above, such a significant drop in the lower range of prices has brought the current average price below the average level of the previous five years. Throughout almost all of June and July, it was the opposite. This is a significant event and does not bode well.
The situation looks different, at least for now, with the prices of white varieties, which are only popular regionally, or at least not in the Łódź Voivodeship. Prices for these potatoes have also fallen, but not as sharply. Currently, in large wholesale, the prices for these potatoes are mostly between 1.00-1.50 PLN/kg (0.23-0.35 EUR/kg), depending on the variety and size.