Compared with the previous two years, apple prices in Ukraine have increased significantly. While this has surprised many Ukrainian consumers, it has not come as a surprise to apple producers, reports EastFruit, citing SEEDS.
However, cheap apples like in the past will no longer be available in Ukraine. And this applies not only to apples, but also to most berries and fruits. This opinion was expressed by Taras Bashtannyk, President of the Ukrainian Horticulture Association (UHA).
The expert spoke about this during the conference “PROFITABLE AGRIBUSINESS 2026: Strategies. Innovations. Investments”, organized by the agri-media agency Sapienza.media in cooperation with the Ukrainian Horticulture Association (UHA) and other industry associations.
“In the apple segment, we can clearly see that prices have increased compared with the previous two years, when they were generally very low. To be honest, if we talk about table apples rather than apples for concentrate, the situation in Ukraine is challenging. Domestic consumption per capita is not high enough to absorb all local production.
There are also challenges with exports. Before the war, Ukraine was primarily expanding its presence in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, because in the European Union there are other major players that are very difficult to compete with – such as Poland, Italy, and France,” says Taras Bashtannyk.
According to him, the war has made exports extremely difficult from a logistics perspective. They have become complicated, lengthy, and expensive – particularly expensive. Nevertheless, producers continue to operate and the sector is still developing. This is confirmed by data from government orchard grant programs.
“If we analyze the three full years of the ‘orchard grant’ program, apple orchards ranked third in terms of planted area supported by grants, after hazelnuts and blueberries,” noted the President of the Ukrainian Horticulture Association.
As for blueberries, the berry remains quite profitable for Ukrainian farmers. Moreover, exports of fresh blueberries continue to grow every year, the expert says.
“The positive trend of increasing fresh blueberry exports continues. Blueberry production is growing by 15–20% annually, and exports must grow accordingly. At the same time, Ukraine has already reached a certain limit in domestic blueberry consumption, which averages around 10,000 tonnes.
However, let’s be honest: the purchasing power of Ukrainians has declined due to the war and economic crisis, and blueberries are not among the most essential products. Therefore, domestic consumption is not increasing significantly, even though the berry is gaining popularity. The only viable option is exports, and Ukraine is successfully pursuing this path,” Bashtannyk emphasized.
He also reminded that for the second consecutive year Ukraine has been the world leader in exports of frozen raspberries. However, in the blueberry segment, Ukrainian producers are still considered “below-average” players in terms of export volumes.
“If last year Ukraine exported a maximum of about 10 thousand tonnes of blueberries, Chile and Peru together export 350–400 thousand tonnes. Poland exports around 20 thousand tonnes, and Spain about 25 thousand. So Ukraine still has significant room for growth and opportunities to replace other suppliers,” said the President of the Ukrainian Horticulture Association.
According to the expert, exports will not be the only source of income for Ukrainian fruit and berry producers in the near future. The domestic market will also no longer be as cheap as it once was.
“As for prices, there is an expectation that cheap prices for berries and fruits will no longer exist. The global market has entered a phase where there are practically no windows or locations left where fruit and vegetable products can be produced cheaply or very cheaply. Ukraine still maintains relatively competitive production costs, but it is unrealistic to expect low prices anymore,” Taras Bashtannyk concluded.
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