Golden Delicious apples on the Polish market - current price situation

Golden Delicious apples are still priced slightly better in Poland  than the "reds" of varieties such as Shampion, Ligol, Jonagold and Jonagored. But the difference is smaller than it used to be in the good years for Golden, and besides, even these slightly higher prices are still very low. This can be seen in our graph below.

Buying prices for Golden Delicious apples in Poland are currently at 1.20-1.40 PLN/kg (calibre 70+ at least), but prices above 1.20 PLN/kg are already a rarity for very good quality goods of thicker calibres. As you can see from the graph, only in 2019 was it worse, when the market was literally flooded with apples. And even so, the difference between the average price then and now is just 5 cents per kilo.

The apple season in Poland and across Europe was difficult from the start due to the high harvest, but it was killed by the political situation in the east. The war there blocked inter-country trade, including the Belarusian market, which is very important for us. It has also cut Moldovan exporters off from Russia and Belarus (where almost 100 per cent of Moldovan apples used to go) and this situation is forcing Moldovan traders to look for opportunities on the EU market and in the Middle East and North African countries. For us, this means even greater competition in an already difficult situation.

However, this is not the end of the threats. The zloty has suffered a lot in the last few days. Admittedly, its depreciation facilitates export, but one should bear in mind the increase in import costs of materials for production of AGMs and fertilisers. And of the fertilizers themselves, while Russia and Belarus were the big suppliers in this sector. Add to that inflation and the problem of reproducing production in the next season is growing.

Coming back to Golden - we should also remember about WAAPA data. Stocks on 1.02.2022 of this variety in Poland were record high: as much as 190 thousand tonnes, by 90 per cent more than the year before. And this despite the fact that many apples of this variety, those of lower quality, go for industry (the purchase price of Golden for industry is currently 0.60 PLN/kg). In the countries monitored by WAPA (EU plus UK and Switzerland), Golden stocks amounted to 940,000 tonnes and were higher year-on-year by 173,000 tonnes, suggesting that almost half of EU Golden was stored in Poland.