🧅 ONIONS ARE GETTING MORE EXPENSIVE: WHAT'S HAPPENING ON THE MARKET AND WHAT TO EXPECT NEXT?
After a short-term decline last week, onion prices in Ukraine have gone up again. According to analysts of the EastFruit project, as of today, farmers are selling onions at 18-27 UAH/kg (\$0.43-0.65/kg), which is on average 13% more expensive than a week earlier.

📉 The main reasons for the rise in price:
✔️Сезонне depletion of stocks in Ukrainian storage facilities.
✔️Скорочення offers products of proper quality.
✔️Зростання trading activity on the part of wholesale buyers.
✔️ Buyers are increasingly expressing complaints about the quality of vegetables.

🔍 Analytics and forecasts
🟢 Short-term forecast (2-4 weeks):
Prices are likely to continue to rise, especially in the premium segment. Good quality onions remain in small quantities, so demand for them is growing. Imports are not yet playing a key role.
🟡 Medium-term forecast (1-2 months):
With the arrival of a new crop of early onions, prices may decline, but this will depend on weather conditions, logistics and the possibility of competitive imports.
🔴 Risks:

• Deterioration in the quality of stored products.
• High cost of storage and logistics.
• Potential decline in customer confidence due to low-quality products.

💬 NGO "Agrarians of Odesa Region" draws attention to the fact that:
"The situation on the onion market is a mirror of a systemic problem. Farmers need access to modern storage facilities with temperature and humidity control. Without investment in post-harvest infrastructure, we will continue to lose margins due to lower quality. Today is the time to form cooperatives, look for government and donor support programmes and enter the market with a quality product."

✅ Recommendations for farmers:
🔹 Sort and calibrate your onions before selling them to ensure customer confidence.
🔹 Study the demand for early onions - it may make sense to speed up the market entry with a new harvest.
🔹 Start monitoring import prices, in particular from Poland and Uzbekistan, to predict competition.
🔹 Use this period of high prices to maximise profits from leftover products.
🔹 Pay attention to grant programmes for the construction or modernisation of vegetable storage facilities.

Onions. strategic vegetable for Ukrainian consumers. The current price increase is natural in the context of dwindling stocks and logistical challenges. However, if farmers focus on quality, cooperation and modernisation, they will not only be able to remain competitive, but also increase profits.

📢 Support farmers - choose a quality Ukrainian product. The agrarian front holds the country's rear!