Poland: The purchase prices of rhubarb have slightly decreased, but...

The rhubarb harvest is already past the peak period of its first, spring phase. Some processing plants have paused the rhubarb campaign and are focusing on seasonal fruits. As a result, there is a noticeable decrease in demand for rhubarb, but it does not mean that interest in this vegetable is low, especially considering its low supply.

However, this reduction in demand is reflected in price changes. At the beginning of this year's season, rhubarb was being bought at prices ranging from 4.50-5.50 PLN/kg, but prices quickly rose due to the disparity between processors' demand and availability. Prices peaked at 6.00-7.00 PLN/kg in the first phase of the buying campaign, then corrected to 5.50-6.50 PLN/kg.

Certainly, these are still not low prices. Firstly, the change of just under -8 percent was small, and secondly, comparing current prices to those of last year shows that the 2023 rhubarb buying season was also "expensive" when compared to previous years. What was the "good" buying price around June 25, 2023? It averaged 3.25 PLN/kg, which means a year-on-year increase of nearly 85 percent.

What prices can be expected for the second phase of the rhubarb buying season? It seems that prices will not go up further. One reason is that prices remain very high for rhubarb purchases. Secondly, it is a rule for this vegetable that buying prices in August are slightly lower than in the first part of the campaign. Nevertheless, even if there is another downward correction, rhubarb will not be cheap until the end of the 2024 season.