Ukraine: Tomato and cucumber prices under pressure from Turkish imports

Experts have noted that, since the introduction of the Russian ban on a number of products from Turk…

Experts have noted that, since the introduction of the Russian ban on a number of products from Turkey, the country has been able to redirect its export flows; also to countries that have special trade regimes with Russia. Thus, deliveries to Belarus have increased by more than seven times, those to Kazakhstan have grown by 12.2 times and those to Azerbaijan have increased by 54.1 times. It may be strange that despite such a serious increase in the supply of Turkish products to Azerbaijan, the prices for the same tomatoes and cucumbers have not fallen in that country.

The Director of the Retail Trade Suppliers Association of Ukraine, Alexei Doroshenko, explained this "Azerbaijani phenomenon", as reported by UBR.

"While consumers in countries like, for example, Ukraine, have naturally benefited from this, as cheap goods have rushed into the country, Ukrainian producers are not as happy. This year, we have a low price for tomatoes and cucumbers. Our greenhouses started the campaign only in March, but they could not get a high price for their products. Turkish vegetables put prices under pressure. In past years, the price of greenhouse products was significantly higher. I repeat, we as consumers won, but the economy has received less taxes," stressed Doroshenko.

For their part, Azerbaijani consumers haven't noticed a reduction in prices, even though the same Turkish tomatoes have probably also ended up in the country. On the contrary, prices have only increased.

In this regard, the expert explains that pricing is primarily affected by competition, which is lacking in Azerbaijan. The cost of goods begins to fall in those areas where producers and wholesalers compete between themselves. Where there is no competition, the price is either stable, or it is growing."