Potatoes sold at double price compared with producers’ price

The potatoes in the markets are sold at a price that is twice larger than that fixed by the producers. According to a study of the agricultural markets carried out by the Farmers Federation AGROinform, the average selling price of potatoes is 3-4 lei per kilogram. The potato growers in northern Moldova, where there are the largest potato fields in the country, sell their potatoes to intermediaries for 2-2.3 lee a kilogram. The study says that the intermediaries earn 30-40% from their business as the producers cannot sell the potatoes themselves. The prices of potatoes during the next months will not change because the potato crop this year is good and the imported Polish potatoes are cheap, the study says. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry said that 323,000 tonnes of potatoes have been harvested so far.