| Abstract [eng] |
The article deals with the tendencies of changes in the harvest, purchase, foreign trade and prices of potatoes in Lithuania. The prices of Lithuanian potatoes are compared with those of the neighbour countries. The changes in the production, prices and sales of potato products are analysed. A sufficient supply of potatoes, the declining prices in the EU and a larger area of potatoes grown for home con-sumption in Lithuania caused lower prices of the 2009 potato harvest; the prices were the lowest during the past five-year period. In Lithuania about half of the harvested potatoes are used for human con-sumption. The processing, trade and export companies purchase only small amounts of the harvested potatoes, the largest share of potatoes is sold in local markets, where in 2009 the prices of potatoes were about 28% lower than in shops. In 2009 in many EU countries the prices of potatoes were lower than in 2008. Although in Lithuania the potato price was reduced more than in Poland, it was by 15% higher than in the said country and by 23% higher than in Germany, the leader of potato prices in the EU. |
