2018 brought Ukraine a record harvest of apples, due to which the gross harvest of fruits and berries immediately increased by 60%.

Product offerings increased by at least 150-200 thousand tons, which negatively affected prices. According to EastFruit experts, this year, apple prices have become the lowest for this five-year period.

According to monitoring data, today apples are offered in Ukrainian markets at a price of 4-8 UAH / kg ($ 0.1-0.30 / kg), which is two times cheaper than in April last year. These figures are 1.5 times less than the average of the last decade. According to project analysts, the current situation with the cost of apples was quite predictable.

Although the apple sale season is gradually passing, rather large stocks of these fruits still remain in vegetable storages. Moreover, the marketability of apples is already quite low. It is almost impossible to export them, which leads to the arrival of large quantities of apples on the domestic market.

This significantly reduces the already low prices for the goods, says EastFruit analyst Maria Lakeeva. The tense situation in the apple market will be further complicated by the massive entry into the sale of seasonal berries and fruits, the expert said.

As soon as strawberries from local household plots appear on the market, the demand for apples traditionally decreases significantly. Starting in the second half of May, apple will also compete with cherries, which will also not have the best effect on the pace of its sale, summed up Maria Lakeeva.