The yield of strawberries this year in Ukraine was quite good. The number of yielded berries was even more than the spring forecasts. Even though, for the second season, there were no berries from the occupied territories of the South on the market, suppliers from other regions of Ukraine were able to meet the demand. The geography of strawberry production is quite broad: there are large plantations in Transcarpathia, Lviv region, Volyn, Ternopil region, Vinnytsia region, Odesa region, and Zhytomyr region. However, due to rainy weather in June, there were constant problems with the quality of the berries. Taras Bashtannyk, head of the Ukrainian Horticulture Association (UHA), summed up the intermediate results of the berry season in Ukraine in a column on Agrotimes.
The average wholesale price for producers for the season was 40-50 UAH ($1.10-1.35) per kilogram. The price was approximately 20% lower for berries picked after the rain. However, those farmers who were lucky, and their plantations were spared by the bad weather, sold their goods for 10% more, even a little more than last season. Farmers feared that the price would drop significantly at the peak of the season, but this did not happen due to the significant market capacity.
Strawberries are well-known to consumers; they are waiting for them and love them, so they buy pretty actively. As a result, the price of berries was quite acceptable considering the costs. The farmers had the opportunity to earn.
The sale was mainly carried out on the fresh market because the price of berries was quite high, restraining the demand of processors. In addition, the processors wanted to avoid taking risks by accepting berries for freezing since there were problems with supplies to Poland.
De jure, Poland has no reason not to accept Ukrainian berries. However, the Poles are doing everything to prevent our products from entering their market.
Our Polish partners are meticulous about every letter and comma in the documentation. They take product samples for analysis, and the results of these analyzes must wait a week and a half. If, in the case of the supply of frozen berries, an exporter from Ukraine has additional costs for a single truck, exporting fresh berries could cause the loss of products.
Read also: Raspberries of Ukraine: collapse in prices and calls for a boycott of raspberry freezing companies
The raspberry season of summer varieties has crossed its equator. It will end in one and a half to two weeks, and soon, the period of fruiting of remontant varieties will begin. The yield is alright; however, because of the rains, there are questions about the quality of products and strawberries.
The problem is that raspberries harvested after rain are only suitable for processing. And there were problems with processing. The price of frozen raspberries has collapsed. If last year a kilogram of frozen raspberries cost UAH 100 ($2.7), now it costs UAH 20-25 ($0.55-0.68), – a price drop of 4-5 times. The situation is entirely predictable since when raspberries were expensive, significant plantations of this crop were planted, including by households.
Consequently, for raspberries, we have a tangible overproduction, which with a high degree of probability, will be observed in the next season. The 20-25 UAH ($0.55-0.68) per kilogram of raspberries does not cover growing it. In other words, raspberries are unprofitable for Ukrainian producers this season.
The market for fresh summer raspberries is not as big as the strawberry market. Raspberries are traditionally consumed less, also because other fruits ripen during the fruiting period, so consumers have more choices. In the fresh market, the wholesale price of a kilogram of raspberries this season was at the level of UAH 50–55 ($1.35-1.50) per kilogram. This is twice as much as the price of a berry for processing; however, considering additional costs, logistics, packaging, etc., such a price will allow producers to break even, but it is unlikely to make money.
Most likely, the sale of remontant varieties will be even more challenging: buyers now have an even wider selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables and are no longer so hungry for fresh vitamins. In addition, the areas under summer varieties of raspberry make up only 30% of the total structure, while remontant varieties occupy the remaining 70%.
Remontant varieties are more suitable for freezing, but this is unlikely to help farmers negotiate a higher price with processors.
Read also: Blueberry price crush in Europe – how will the rest of the season evolve?
The situation is also predictable for blueberries, although not very encouraging for producers. As of mid-July, the price of blueberries is two times lower than last year: at the level of UAH 120 ($3.24) per kg. There are several reasons for this. Firstly, there has been a significant increase in the area under blueberries in recent years. Gradually, these plantings come into bearing and increase productivity. Tentatively, blueberry production in Ukraine will grow by 25-30% annually. Domestic consumption of this berry is rising at a much slower pace. Ukrainians average consume 3-5 thousand tons of blueberries per season. Consumption in the world is also growing slowly.
Moreover, now we have problems with the export of blueberries for the same reasons as for other crops. Blueberries are exported fresh, so issues and delays at the border will be critical for them. In my opinion, export is possible only to Western countries to Denmark or the Netherlands, where blueberries can go in transit, and our Polish partners will not be able to block such cargo.
What to do about blueberry overproduction?
The answers are classic: expand sales channels, work with exports, no matter how difficult it may be, work to reduce costs, and increase the yield and quality of berries.
The entry threshold for the strawberry or raspberry business is low, so there are quite a few casual players. The establishment of blueberry plantations requires significant investments, so it is difficult to imagine the situation that they will be uprooted. For the most part, this business employs large players who are determined to play for the long haul.
