Ukrainian fruit market

Ukrainian Apple Season 2022

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The Ukrainian apple season should be in full swing right now, but demand seems to be at a low point right now. On the growers’ side, some are opting to send all of their harvest toward processing facilities, to minimize both risks and costs as much as possible.

Volodymyr Gurzhiy of Ukrainian apple exporter USPA states that the war in Ukraine is just one factor in the very challenging season they’re currently in: “Every season is different, however, the season of 2022-2023 is going to be even more outstanding. The war in Ukraine brought a lot of changes and challenges, which affects all the markets considerably. For Ukrainian exporters, the most painful is the closed Belarusian market, as they had a significant share in our export in the previous seasons, skyrocketed energy costs, huge prices for packaging, and double and sometimes triple logistics cost compared to the same week of the previous year. I don’t think we are unique in all that circumstances in the whole of Europe; however, our logistics costs are enormously high. It’s going to be hard to compete until the Ukrainian ports are to be opened.” (more…)

Horticulture of Ukraine 2020: Fruit and Vegetable Degradation or Temporary Difficulties?

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The EastFruit team sums up the results for the Ukrainian horticulture business in 2020, which can hardly be considered successful or favorable. Fruit and vegetable imports to Ukraine this year increased by 25% while exports decreased according to preliminary estimates.

The decrease in proceeds from walnut exports due to the decline in world prices for these products became especially noticeable. Revenue from the exports of fresh apples and blueberries also dropped sharply and were not offset by revenue growth from the exports of frozen berries even though their prices on the world market have strengthened significantly.

Imports, on the other hand, increased in almost every product category with the exception of onions. Imports of greenhouse tomatoes, greenhouse cucumbers, and potatoes grew the most. Also, the costs of importing table grapes, lemons, avocados, grapefruits, and persimmons to Ukraine increased by more than 30-40%.

In addition to the deterioration of the horticulture trade balance, one of the main challenges for the fruit and vegetable industry in Ukraine was a sharp change in the distribution channels of products. The sharp decline in sales in HoReCa due to the coronavirus pandemic and the strengthening role of supermarkets forced market participants to reconsider approaches not only to marketing but also to production.

Marketing was also felt the impact due to the lack of exhibitions, conferences, and sharp restrictions on travel opportunities reduced the effectiveness of such efforts.

The most relevant topic that determined the conjuncture of the Ukrainian and world markets is, of course, COVID-19. The coronavirus pandemic, which was initially underestimated by many, quickly became the world’s #1 problem. Ukraine turned out to be practically unprepared for it and the measures taken by the government were sometimes simply shocking and seemingly illogical and inconsistent to market participants. (more…)