Onion Prices in Ukraine Remain at Historic Lows for the Third Consecutive Year
In Ukraine, for the third consecutive year, the seasonal price of onions is setting new anti-records. As of October 2025, wholesale prices for this vegetable have dropped to the level of 5–10 UAH per kilogram. Experts note that this trend persists due to large volumes of medium and low-quality products currently flooding the market.
This is reported by AgroReview
Reasons for Price Decline and Consequences of Overproduction
The key factor behind the decrease in onion prices has been excessive supply: over the past three years, farmers have continuously increased the area under this crop, hoping for stable price growth. However, expectations have not materialized, and for the third season in a row, the market is facing overproduction. According to Alexander Khorev, coordinator of the EastFruit Weekly Ukraine project, even after several years of low prices, many farmers hoped for an increase, but the surplus supply once again led to a drop in value.
“One year — prices are low, the second year — low, by the third year they were all sure that prices would be high. No, prices will never be high if there is overproduction, meaning supply will exceed demand,” he noted.
This year’s high harvest is particularly characteristic of the northern and western regions, where the collection of late varieties is still ongoing. At the same time, adverse weather conditions have negatively affected the quality of the harvested products: due to diseases and insufficient handling during storage, the market is dominated by medium and low-quality onions. This pushes farmers to sell their harvest quickly, reinforcing the downward price trend.
Impact of the War and Prospects for Producers
An additional factor putting pressure on prices has been the reduction in consumer demand due to military actions and the outflow of part of the population abroad. As a result, producers are facing classic overproduction risks: low prices, losses for farmers, and crop losses due to inadequate storage technologies.
Alexander Khorev emphasized that despite record-low prices this season, there may be an increase in onion prices in the spring if stocks of quality products become scarce.
“Currently, the Ukrainian onion market is once again demonstrating classic overproduction risks: low prices, losses for farmers, and crop losses due to inadequate technologies. Despite the anti-record prices this season, there is a potential for a price rebound in the spring when stocks of quality products become scarce,” noted Alexander Khorev.
Experts recommend that producers invest in modern drying and storage technologies, as well as plan onion cultivation areas more carefully. This will help reduce the risks of excess supply and avoid sharp price fluctuations in the future.