The production costs of domestic tomatoes and cucumbers have increased by several dozen percent. The sale price of cucumbers, however, has decreased, and initially high tomato prices have returned to last year’s level. Even if producers want to increase prices, they can’t, as consumers wouldn’t be able to afford them anymore.
Parnu County’s Voiste Aiand OU is selling tomatoes at 20% higher prices than last year.
“Price increases are being driven by a 20% inflation, then a 100% increase in fuel costs, plus fertilizers,” Voiste Aiand board member Viljar Metsaoru said. “The price increase on fertilizers – each delivery to arrive has a different price. Everything has to be doubled – if something was EUR 100 before, now it’s all EUR 200.”
Intsu talu owner Voldemar Kamenik spoke of the same, noting that fuel alone, which accounted for 30% of the company’s turnover, had doubled in price. More expensive inputs, however, don’t mean that they can increase tomato prices for long.
While domestic tomato-growers initially began selling tomatoes this year at 20% higher prices, Intsu talu has since reduced prices to last year’s levels again.
“It hasn’t grown much, and it isn’t going to increase compared with last year, because people can’t afford it anyway,” Kamenik explained. “People are impoverished, prices have increased – all prices – and that is why it’s not possible to sell at any higher prices.”
Luunja cucumber producer Grune Fee is faced with the same issue as well – while input prices are up, they can’t increase the prices of their own final product. On the contrary, Luunja cucumbers are currently being sold 5% cheaper than last year.
“On average, prices on the input side – that is, packaging materials, plastic film products, fertilizers – have increased by 50-70% and there’s no end in sight there, as for many supplies, the specific price of each new delivery is clarified immediately prior to shipment,” said Grune Fee Eesti CEO Raivo Kulasepp. “In that sense, there’s nothing we can do; we sell at the prices we can, at the prices our clients are willing to accept it.” (ERR/Business World Magazine)