The potato market in Eastern Europe is rumbling. Yields in Russia and Belarus have been disappointing and Ukraine is currently both an importer and an exporter of potatoes. Meanwhile, potatoes from the EU are also being pulled.
The market in Eastern Europe is therefore considerably different from last year when local growers protested against alleged dumping practices by Western growers who offered potatoes well below cost price.
Greater role for Ukraine
Russia is usually one of the dominant players, but this season Ukraine is emerging as the price leader in the region. The reason for this is the relatively low prices on the domestic market due to a good harvest, especially in the western part of Ukraine. A relatively large number of potatoes are therefore exported to Belarus and Moldova.
Trade prices in Ukraine for potatoes have now fallen to below $20 per 100 kilos. Trading platform Tridge reports prices between $16 and $19 per 100 kilos and East Fruit $19 per 100 kilos. Prices are therefore approximately 15% to 20% lower than in the same period last year. But Ukrainian potatoes are much cheaper than Russian ones. Tridge and East Fruit report prices between approximately $45 and $60 per 100 kilos depending on the region. Belarus is in between with prices of approximately $35 to $40 per 100 kilos.
Transit country
Ukraine may take the lead in exports, but Belarus is emerging as a transit port. Although potato prices in Poland have almost doubled compared to a year earlier, they are in many cases below Ukrainian prices. This makes it very attractive for Belarus to import potatoes from Poland and then export them to Russia.