According to Fruit-Inform, trading activity in the Russian potato market has been going down since last week. Despite farmers' hopes for an increase in prices after fall in temperature, potato prices have been stable for more than a month in the Russian Federation.
Nevertheless, Russian farmers do not complain about the current season, as potato prices have doubled compared to last year, due to a decrease in yield along with unfavourable weather conditions. Many farmers say that lesser quality quite often goes hand in hand with a lower harvest. This situation could lead to large supply in the Russian potato market, as growers try to sell their stocks as soon as possible, as the quality of potatoes often is unsuitable for long-term storage.
For the time being, the lower sales rates had no impact on prices. Nevertheless, the majority of farmers are hoping that prices will start growing in January. Importers hold the same opinion, and are actively closing contracts with Egyptian suppliers. Egyptian potatoes are expected to arrive in the Russian market by February.
