Ukraine’s blueberry sector is gaining direct access to the expertise of one of the most powerful players in the global berry business. Ukrainian Blueberry Growers Association is organising a meeting in Zakarpattia with Stephen Taylor, Managing Director of Winterwood Farms Ltd. and the United Kingdom’s representative at the International Blueberry Organization (IBO), EastFruit reports.
In May, Ukrainian growers will have the opportunity to engage directly with a professional working at the heart of one of Europe’s largest berry businesses. For Ukrainian producers, this is far more than a high-profile international visit: it is access to the real-world practices of large-scale export business at a time when the global blueberry market is becoming increasingly competitive, demanding and technology-driven.
The significance of this event is further reinforced by the support of the IBO, the leading international platform of the global blueberry industry. It is the Ukrainian Blueberry Growers Association that has been selected to represent Ukraine within the organisation.
The Association also extends special thanks to IBO President Mario Steta for his unprecedented support for the Association and for facilitating Stephen Taylor’s visit to Ukraine. This is an important sign of international attention to Ukraine’s blueberry industry and support for its development at an exceptionally difficult time for the country.
According to Nataliia Pukshyn, President of the Ukrainian Blueberry Growers Association, the professional meeting is primarily designed for owners and executives of export-oriented companies. The Association, which brings together around 50 member companies, is introducing international expertise to the Ukrainian sector and familiarising it with practical tools to strengthen competitiveness in global markets, improve quality, and expand the export potential of Ukrainian blueberries.
Stephen Taylor represents a business that operates in the reality of intense international competition. Winterwood Farms Ltd. manages farms in the United Kingdom, France, Poland and South Africa, with a combined area of more than 2,000 hectares, and is positioned as the largest blueberry producer in Europe and Africa. It is a vertically integrated “farm-to-customer” business, while its UK packing facility — with a capacity of around 20,000 tonnes of soft fruit and more than 60 million packs per year — is the world’s largest specialised soft fruit packing facility.
For Ukrainian growers, the opportunity to learn directly from a senior executive and large-scale producer operating at this level is especially valuable, because this is where consistency of quality, post-harvest handling, packaging, logistics, and compliance with retail requirements become decisive.
“For Ukraine’s berry industry today, it is crucial not only to grow, but also to professionalise rapidly as it integrates into the global market. The visit of Stephen Taylor and the support of the IBO give our producers a direct opportunity to hear from someone working in one of the most competitive segments of the global berry business, making daily decisions at the intersection of production, quality, packaging, logistics and the blueberry market itself.
This support is particularly important now, as Ukraine’s berry sector operates under wartime conditions, facing unprecedented challenges, high risks and fierce competition for a place in international markets. At such a time, the attention, openness to cooperation and practical engagement shown by the IBO, as well as the visit to Ukraine by a British expert of this calibre, are not only a sign of professional solidarity. They are also an important signal of international confidence in Ukraine’s blueberry industry, its potential and its future,” said Nataliia Pukshyn, President of the Ukrainian Blueberry Growers Association.
The announced topic of the expert’s presentation: “North vs South” is expected to provide producers with highly practical insights. At the centre of the discussion are issues that directly determine the position of companies in export markets: genetics, varietal adaptation to different growing conditions, quality control, post-harvest efficiency, logistics, and commercial discipline.
According to the IBO, these are increasingly the factors that determine success in the European blueberry industry, where competition is shifting away from simply expanding volumes towards consistently delivering on market requirements. Ukraine’s future success, therefore, will no longer depend on volume alone, but on product quality, production technology, investment in post-harvest handling, cold chain infrastructure, packaging, and the right positioning in the European market.
That is why Stephen Taylor’s visit offers Ukrainian producers a chance to benchmark their own market vision directly against the logic of large-scale international business, where competitiveness is determined not only by variety and yields, but also by execution discipline, the ability to ensure uniform quality, appropriate packaging, and reliable logistics.
“We see this meeting as another step towards strengthening the technological capacity, export readiness and international standing of Ukrainian blueberry producers. And it is precisely the Blueberry Growers Association of Ukraine that today serves as a platform capable of turning international recognition, IBO support and partnerships of this level into practical solutions, new opportunities for growers, and a real strengthening of the strategic weight of Ukrainian berry producers in the global market,” added Nataliia Pukshyn, President of the Ukrainian Blueberry Growers Association.
The use of the site materials is free if there is a direct and open for search engines hyperlink to a specific publication of the East-Fruit.com website.
