Main points
- Buckwheat prices in Ukraine have increased, in March a kilogram cost an average of 54.07 hryvnias compared to 49.85 hryvnias in February.
- Experts predict a further increase in prices to 80-90 hryvnias if Ukrainians create a rush to buy cereals.
Will there be a shortage of buckwheat in Ukraine / Collage of Channel 24
Recently, a video of half-empty supermarket shelves in Kyiv went viral on Ukrainian social media. Residents allegedly bought up the cheapest buckwheat and rice.
Why is buckwheat becoming more expensive in Ukraine?
The store allegedly did not have a single pack left with a price of up to 60 hryvnias. Why is buckwheat becoming more expensive and whether Ukrainians are threatened with its shortage – 24 Channel investigated.
The video from the capital's store appeared on Friday, March 21. “”News.Live”” wrote that Kyiv residents bought up all the cheap cereals – buckwheat and rice at prices up to 59.99 hryvnia per kilogram.
Executive Director of the International Buckwheat Association, Serhiy Gromovy, has already stated in a comment to UNIAN about a shortage of buckwheat in Ukraine. With the exception of 2019, last year's harvest was the worst in a quarter of a century.
Half-empty shelves in a Kyiv supermarket: watch the video
According to monitoring data from the Ministry of Finance website, buckwheat prices in retail chains have indeed increased significantly. Back in February, a kilogram cost an average of 49.85 hryvnias, while now it is 54.07 hryvnias . Moreover, in some chains, the price of buckwheat has risen to over 60 hryvnias.
Gromovy does not rule out a further price increase to a sky-high 80-90 hryvnias per kilogram. However, the expert considers this a pessimistic scenario if Ukrainians rush to buy up all the buckwheat.
I don't see a particularly strong growth going forward. The price will certainly increase a bit and stabilize,
– he said.
Interesting! Before the start of the full-scale war, the shelves of Ukrainian stores were filled with cereals from the aggressor country. Currently, Kazakhstan dominates the structure of buckwheat supplies.
However, Gromovy emphasizes that under the guise of Kazakh products, they are actually importing Russian products, since Russia allegedly remains its only exporter in the world.
Why does Ukraine have almost no buckwheat of its own?
-
Earlier, Gromovy told Suspilny that 10 years ago, only three countries in the world exported buckwheat – Russia, China, and Ukraine. However, the aggressor country gradually conquered the Ukrainian market, and now even China has become a net importer.
-
Currently, Ukraine, as a large consumer of this cereal, does not have enough of its own production to meet its needs. Farmers refuse to increase their crops and grow the crop due to the low price of its purchase, and there is no state influence on the processes.
-
The second factor is the lack of quality seeds. According to the expert, there is currently a shortage of them in Ukraine, because during market stagnation, seed farms are the first to suffer.