- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Asparagus
- Artichokes
- Arugula (rocket)
- Aubergines
- Beans
- Beetroot
- Broad bean
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbages
- Cauliflower
- Carrot
- Celeriac
- Chicory
- Chinese cabbage
- Chickpeas
- Chives
- Cucumbers
- Cucurbit
- Courgette (zucchini)
- Fennel
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Green Beans
- Horse-radish
- Herbs
- Kale
- Kohlrabi
- Leeks
- Lettuce and endives
- Lima beans
- Onion
- Parsley
- Parsnip
- Peas
- Potatoes
- Ribbed celery
- Rhubarb
- Radish
- Shallot
- Spinach
- Sweet corn
- Sweet pepper
- Sweet potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Turnip
- Witloof chicory
- Yellow squash
- Mushrooms
Pressure on potato prices
The first days of August brought very unfavorable developments in the Polish wholesale potato market. A downward trend in potato prices in the Polish wholesale market in August is typical for this phase of the season. However, the level at which this is happening in the current season is concerning. If the situation is already so unfavorable from the producers' point of view now, what will happen in October? Producers themselves widely acknowledge that things are very bad. Potatoes started August with fairly low prices, but the average still managed to stay near the average price of the previous five seasons (just one cent below). Unfortunately, in the following days of the current month, the downward trend continued.
The entire potato market was negatively impacted, as often in previous years, by the situation in the central part of the country—in the "potato heartland" in the Kalisz and Sieradz region. There, prices took a dive—for yellow and red varieties of potatoes—to the level of 0.60 PLN/kg in purchase offers by large potato buyers, which is approximately 0.14 EUR/kg. These prices were not rejected by farmers, leading to a downward pull on the prices of these potatoes in other regions of Poland. As a result, the average price has dropped by 15 percent since the beginning of August.
Now, yellow and red potatoes in large wholesale markets mostly range from 0.60-1.00 PLN/kg (0.14-0.23 EUR/kg), although there are producers offering sales at 1.80-2.00 PLN/kg (0.42-0.47 EUR/kg). On the other hand, the mentioned large potato-buying companies have once again lowered prices and are now offering 0.50 PLN/kg (0.12 EUR/kg). Will there be no shortage of sellers willing to sell for pennies again?
Interestingly, prices for white potato varieties, which are locally grown in the Mazovia region, are holding at a much more stable and higher level of 1.00-1.50 PLN/kg (0.23-0.35 EUR/kg). Yet, the condition of potato crops is not particularly good. They have suffered from adverse weather conditions, especially with significant problems related to diseases. We will have another year with not particularly high yields and harvests far from the records of 2017-2018. However, a year ago, under similar factors negatively impacting the market and a similar acreage, the average price of yellow potatoes was 1.60 PLN/kg (0.37 EUR/kg), twice as much as now.