Traditionally over Black Friday you would expect demand to pick and prices that will increase. This is unfortunately not the case in the fresh produce markets. Demand shifts more to tech products and soft drinks and if there is slightly better demand, consumers are looking for specials, so prices don’t usually react upward. I therefore don’t think is will support prices on the markets.
Moving over to the vegetable markets, the average national potato price increased slightly last week and traded on R76.12 per 10kg and was 14% higher than a year ago. Last week, large potato prices traded higher on R91, mediums traded on R71, and smalls on R52 per 10kg. Mondials traded higher on R77 and Sifras higher on R80 per 10kg. Volumes from Limpopo are expected to drop off sharply from this week and although Natal and Vryburg will probably start soon, the overall volumes are still expected to decrease. This coupled with higher end of the month demand this week, can support a possible upward movement for the next two weeks.
The average onion price dropped as expected to R46.68 per 10kg last week. Brown onion prices stayed on R47, red onions increased to R73, and white onions stayed on R50 per 10kg. Large onions traded at R41, mediums at R52, and smalls lower at R37 per 10kg. We don’t really expect massive price movements for onions for the remainder of this year with prices likely to stay in this price band. Higher demand can however support a slight upward movement this week.
Tomato prices decreased by another 5% the past week to R10.19 per kilogram with volumes about 4% lower. Large tomatoes traded at R12.87, mediums at R9.92, and smalls increased to R10.06. The expectation is for prices to increase a bit this week due to higher demand. But lower quality remains an issue.
The carrot price decreased by 15% last week to R3.87 per kilogram with volumes 2% lower over the past week. This price is now about 15% lower than a year ago while volumes traded 4% higher year on year. Large carrots traded at R4.04, mediums at R3.37, and smalls at R2.45 per kilogram. We are also expecting slightly better demand this week which can stop the downward spiral, but the real issue is quality and shelve life at the moment. The heatwave is impacting the quality delivered to markets and pushing prices down since buyers only buy the necessary volumes and nothing more. So expect the price to stay on this lower level this week.
The average pepper price decreased to R14.91 per kilogram and is now about 18% higher than a year ago with volumes 1% lower year on year. The increase in price was driven by higher red and yellow peppers on the markets. In contrast, green pepper prices decreased to R13.17 last week. Yellow pepper prices increased by 24% to R17.42 while red pepper prices increased by 23% to R16.77 per kilogram. We are still expecting the average price to increase in December and peak just before Christmas.
The average cabbage price decreased by 23% to R2.77 due to 9% higher volumes last week. Garlic prices maintained its current levels and traded at R43.93 per kilogram while the average spinach price decreased to R2.60 per kilogram. Spinach prices are likely to trade slightly higher over the next month, but higher volumes will likely keep prices below R4. Sweet potato prices decreased by 16% to R6.99 per kilogram, pumpkin prices decreased to R2.39, butternuts increased to R4.02, Green beans increased to R14.75, and cucumber prices decreased sharply to R9.31 per kilogram. If you would like to see more detail on these markets, please download our latest reports on amtrends.co.za for FREE.