Low prices of oranges on the Polish market

The weakening of the Polish zloty and increased costs in the countries of origin have not affected the price level of imported oranges. At least for now. However, oranges should soon start to become more expensive after all.

The situation on the wholesale orange market in Poland is completely different to previous years but, at the same time, what is currently happening in the wholesale banana trade is a consequence of trends already seen last season. The most important difference between this year and previous years is the lack of price increases in February and March.

Usually, by this time of the year, there was already a drop in the supply of Spanish imports, which translated into higher prices. In addition, in the current season this trend should be reinforced by other factors that have had a negative impact on the market as a whole. On the one hand, the zloty has weakened, and on top of that there has been an increase in costs - both for producers in the country of origin and for transport. And yet orange prices are still not rising, and in fact remain lower than a year ago (when it comes to the standard range of bulk dessert fruit).

Currently, prices of such oranges at large wholesalers are usually 3.00-4.50 PLN/kg, depending on the country of origin and calibre. This gives an average of 3.75 PLN/kg compared to 4.50 PLN/kg a year ago. So we have a year-on-year fall of 17 per cent. However, an indication of the arithmetic average does not fully reflect the true market situation. The factor that has made the current season so different, and which was already visible a year ago, is the expansion of orange exports from Egypt, which can also be seen in our market. It is Egyptian oranges that have prices at the bottom of the range and "undercut" the average.

However, despite the high supply of Egyptian oranges, the average price index should soon start to rise after all. The season is not standing still in Egypt either and the overall supply will eventually start to decrease.