Uzbekistan is recording rapid growth in the prices for greenhouse tomatoes whose wholesale prices have skyrocketed by 1.5 times the average over the past month, and by almost 70% since the beginning of the year.
The average wholesale price for greenhouse red round tomatoes in Uzbekistan as of March 10, 2023, was almost 2 times higher than on the same date in 2021.
EastFruit experts note that the main reason for this is the abnormal cold in January during which huge crop losses in greenhouses were caused. According to market participants, they hardly expect a significant reduction in prices in the near future given the growing season of this crop.
According to Khusan Khaydarov, commercial director of GDF Export, a major exporter of Uzbek fruits and vegetables, many greenhouses lost their tomato crops due to the cold weather.
The rough estimates show the average loss of tomato crops in the country ranges from 50% to 70% with greenhouses in Surkhandarya, Kashkadarya, Samarkand, and Tashkent regions, as well in the Ferghana Valley suffering the greatest loss.
The greenhouse tomatoes reacted to the abnormally low temperatures along with other types of vegetables which also recorded a sharp increase in prices.
The average price for greenhouse red round tomatoes increased by 27% in two weeks – from 12 000 to 19 000 UZS/kg (from $1.33 to $1.68) – in the second week of January 2023 and stayed stable until the last week of January, when wholesale prices began to grow again.
Then, in a little more than one month period from February 3 to March 10, the average wholesale price for greenhouse red round tomatoes increased by 50% to 27 000 UZS/kg ($2.37) i.e. by 80% since the beginning of the year.
Similar fluctuation of wholesale prices was also recorded for rose greenhouse tomatoes, the average wholesale price of which increased 65% in one month- from 20 000 to 33 000 UZS/kg (from $1.76 to $2.89) from February 10 to March 10.
These prices are 2.8 times higher than in the same period last year and 2.2 times higher than in 2021.
