PRICES FOR CHERRIES AND STRAWBERRIES SOAR - LARGE DISCREPANCIES BETWEEN PRODUCER AND RETAIL MARKET AND OTHER PRODUCTS - Filenews 21/5 by Angelos Nikolaou
Significant differences arise from the field to the supermarket shelf in the selling prices of local fruit and vegetable products.
The average prices at the level of producers are communicated directly by the officially recognized groups and organizations of fruit and vegetable producers, while the retail prices are collected by a large number of supermarkets operating on a nationwide basis in the "e-basket" through a survey carried out yesterday by specialized officials of the Department of Agriculture.
According to yesterday's data, some products record particularly high prices, burdening the family budget.
The cherry emerges as the most expensive product of the period, with the average producer price reaching €9.00 per kilo and the retail sale skyrocketing to €12.95 per kilo.
Louvi is at similarly high levels, with the retail price standing at €9.45 per kilo compared to €8.00 per kilo for the producer's price.
This is followed by lowland strawberries, which show a huge discrepancy, with the average retail price reaching €9.20 per kg, despite the fact that the price of the producer organization is only €4.87 per kg.
On the contrary, the average price of mountain strawberries follows with a retail price of €7.50 per kilo and beans at €7.45 per kilo.
The average price of tomatoes is €3.53 per kilo, while cucumbers are €1.33 per kilo. Potatoes are sold at €0.76 per kilo.
The picture in imported products
In addition to local products, the formation of prices for imported fruits and vegetables that are widely consumed is also interesting.
The absolute advantage in terms of cost belongs to blueberries, which record an extremely high average price of €34.00 per kilo.
In the rest of the imported items, prices are moving at smoother levels. Grapes and pomegranates are sold at €7.00 per kilo, formosas at €6.00 per kilo, while pear apples are fixed at €5.00 per kilo.
More affordable for the public are imported apples (€3.00 per kilo), mangoes (€3.00 per kilo) and imported bananas (€2.00 per kilo), which appear slightly more expensive than their Cypriot counterparts.
The average price for lemons is €2.50 per kilo and for imported onions €4.00 per kilo.
Imported bundled asparagus is sold for €9.50 per kilo.
