According to EastFruit analysts, the 2024/25 season has seen a sharp rise in export prices for Ukrainian apples. The most significant increase in average export prices was noted for shipments to the UAE, where importers paid 40-60% more for Ukrainian fruits this season. Export prices for Ukrainian apples supplied to Saudi Arabia, the main market for this product category this season, also rose significantly by 30-40%. A similar price increase is observed in apple exports to Kuwait. Sweden, one of the main buyers of Ukrainian apples in the EU, paid an average of 25% more than a year earlier.
According to Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the rise in apple prices in Ukraine is due not only to a decrease in the harvest in Ukraine but also to a general decline in apple production in the region, which significantly supports prices in all markets, including the Middle East. “Another important reason for the price increase is the continued rise in apple concentrate prices to record levels, which pulls up prices for industrial apples. Thus, the supply of cheap low-quality apples on the fresh market decreases because it is easier and more profitable for producers to sell them to AJC factories, which also contributes to the price bullishness in the fresh produce segment,” explains Andriy Yarmak.
It is worth noting that this season, apple exports are not a priority for many Ukrainian gardeners against the backdrop of fairly high prices in the domestic market. As seen in the graph of weekly average prices in the Ukrainian market, even in US dollars, the wholesale price of apples is at a record high in recent years. In hryvnia, the price is 56% higher than last year’s, which was also a record at the time.
It is clear that the prospects for apple price growth in Ukraine are not exhausted at the moment, and price records may be updated in the spring, with exports being minimal in recent years.
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