Since the beginning of the seasonal sale of goods for the sowing campaign in 2023, hypermarkets of the Epicenter retail chain (Kyiv) have increased the indicator by 97% compared to 2022, the company's press service reported.

"This year, people started preparing for the sowing season much earlier than usual. Back in December, we noticed some hype for seedling supplies, whereas, as a rule, it began in the second half of January. Seedling kits, peat pots and cassettes were simply swept from the shelves. There was also increased demand for seeds, and in March, the sale of fertilizers reached a maximum in recent years," Svitlana Lisanti, director of the Garden direction of the Epicenter chain, is quoted in a press release.

According to her, seeds are most often sold in this category: the increase this year compared to the previous year was 64%, soil mixtures (up by 121%), fertilizers (up by 107%) and agricultural chemistry (up by 122%). The subgroup of seedling products showed the highest performance compared to last year: sales of seeds increased by 128%, and seedling cassettes by 74%.

Lisanti considers low demand last year and inflationary processes in the country to be the main reason for the growth in sales of goods for the sowing campaign.

"Last year, sales of these products in many regions of the country collapsed as a result of a full-scale invasion (of Russia into Ukraine). At the same time, over the past year, most of the goods for the sowing campaign have risen in price due to the growth of the exchange rate, an increase in energy prices, logistics, etc.," she explained.

The director of the Garden direction also said that since the beginning of the 2023 season, the volume of sales of this category of goods exceeded the figures for pre-war 2021 both in monetary terms (71% more) and in quantity terms (4% more).

"On the one hand, people started buying seeds, fertilizers and soil mixtures in advance because of fears of further price increases. On the other hand, it can be concluded that in the face of rising unemployment and declining incomes, more and more Ukrainians hope to feed themselves at the expense of households," Lisanti said.

According to Epicenter, now preference is given to high-quality professional brands that guarantee high yields and maximum effect. When choosing between several analogues, the price is decisive.

The retail chain noted that last year, due to hostilities and disruption of supply chains, there was sometimes a shortage of certain types of seeds and fertilizers. Now there are no problems with their shortage in the country.

The season of goods for the sowing campaign in Ukraine begins in mid-March, with peak sales in April-May.

Epicenter K LLC was established in 2003 and opened its first hypermarket in Kyiv in December of the same year. Today, it develops the country's largest chain of shopping centers Epicenter, which is the market leader in the segment of retail trade in goods for home and repair.