REUTERS
Economists voice discouraging forecasts for apple prices by the end of the year.
Exotic bananas are becoming more popular with Ukrainians than traditional apples since demand for the latter has dropped significantly due to high prices.
Read alsoUkraine sees apple price hikes over poor harvest
Over the past eight months, Ukraine has imported a record number of bananas over the past five years, that is more than 180,000 tonnes, the Ukrainian TSN TV news service said on October 7.
"Prices scare away – the price of apples is UAH 30 [US$1.20] per kilogram, while that of lard is UAH 70 [US$2.81] per kilogram," seller Nadezhda said.
Economists voice discouraging forecasts for apple prices by the end of the year.
"The price will for sure rise by 15%-20% the least. The situation with bananas is slightly better. In the global market, bananas are now incredibly cheap compared to Ukrainian apples, even including transportation costs and forex risks. If the price of apples goes up, that of bananas will not change," experts say.
However, nutritionists advise not to be categorical and consume both bananas and apples. After all, they have completely different nutritional properties that do not replace each other.