End of the rhubarb harvesting season

This year's campaign for rhubarb procurement for processing brought very large price fluctuations, completely atypical for this market. However, it should also be noted that they generally took place at higher price levels than the prices rhubarb had achieved in procurement in previous years. In this respect, it was a historic season.

The first and primary reason for this state of affairs was the very poor rhubarb crops this year. The weather strongly affected these crops, and from the beginning of the harvesting campaign in May, it was evident that there was and would be less available raw material than usual. And the prices only reflected these supply problems.

There were also very large price fluctuations in rhubarb procurement during this year's season, so atypical for this market, which were a result of supply shortages. Expensive rhubarb, which was also difficult to buy in desired quantities, discouraged many entities from extending the procurement campaign. This caused fluctuations in demand - much greater than in typical seasons.

Currently, at the end of the campaign, rhubarb procurement prices have slightly strengthened. They have increased on average by 16 percent from the lowest level in the season (third decade of August). Currently, the price is most often at 5.00-6.00 PLN/kg (1.17-1.40 EUR/kg).

At the cheapest moment of the 2024 campaign, the price was at 4.00-5.50 PLN/kg (0.93-1.29 EUR/kg), resulting in an average of 4.75 PLN/kg (1.11 EUR/kg). For comparison, the highest average procurement price in the 2023 season was 3.30 PLN/kg (0.77 EUR/kg), and in the 2022 season, it was 2.60 PLN/kg (0.61 EUR/kg). Additionally, when rhubarb was at its most expensive this year, its average procurement price reached 6.50 PLN/kg (1.52 EUR/kg). This is 97 percent more than the highest price last year and 150 percent more than two years ago.