EastFruit analysts continue to monitor the frozen fruit and berry markets in the region. Yesterday, we discussed the situation in the frozen raspberry market, which is crucial for Eastern Europe. This segment continues to face a shortage, with the potential for it to worsen.
In this review, we will cover sour cherries, currants, apricots, blackberries, chokeberries, and elderberries.
Yulia Tymoshenko, Head of the Frozen Fruit Production Project “Tiferet” (Moldova), highlights an unusual trend: the search for unexpected alternatives to more traditional fruits and berries in the frozen produce sector. While not every product can be substituted, market participants should remember that when the price of one category becomes too high relative to another, demand for it decreases as it is replaced in recipes with alternative products. This phenomenon is detailed in the article “Raspberry price cycles”.
Let’s now review the situation in the markets for the aforementioned fruits and berries.
Frozen sweet and sour cherries
Amid the acute shortage of sour cherries, frozen pitted sweet cherries are in unusually high demand in the EU market. Black varieties of sweet cherries are particularly popular. While this product cannot fully replace sour cherries, it is a close substitute.
Frozen sweet cherries are selling well, with first-class cherries fetching an average of €2.05 to €2.20 per kg in EU countries. Additionally, the demand for unpitted sweet cherries has also increased. It is possible that frozen sweet cherries will remain in demand even if sour cherry supply volumes are restored.
Blackcurrants
This season, blackcurrants are among the scarcest products in the frozen fruit and vegetable market. There are no significant volumes of blackcurrants available.
Previously, Poland was the main player in the frozen blackcurrant market, setting the price for this berry. However, it is now quite difficult to obtain offers for blackcurrants from Poland. It has turned out that blackcurrants are suddenly in high demand just at the moment that they are not available.
Buyers might consider inquiring about this product in Central Asian countries (through our Telegram trade group), but be cautious as blackcurrants are often confused with jostaberries there.
Determining the price of frozen blackcurrants without sufficient offers and real deals is challenging. According to our surveys, real deals for blackcurrants are possible at prices around €2.50 per kg, which seems quite high for these berries.
An interesting pattern is observed in this segment: as blackcurrants become very expensive and scarce, the market starts to form demand for chokeberries and elderberries. Jostaberries from Central Asia might also be a suitable product in this case. Those who have no idea about these berries are invited to our Youtube channel with a special jostaberry video.
Due to the high price of blackcurrants, wild blueberries have become incredibly expensive, with prices exceeding €3 per kg. This berry is one of the most popular in the frozen fruit and vegetable market, much more than blackcurrants, making direct comparisons somewhat inappropriate.
Apricots
Currently, there are no issues with frozen apricots in Europe. The market is dominated by frozen apricots from Turkey and China, offered at such low prices that they prevent EU and even Eastern European freezers from purchasing raw fruits competitively. The apricot harvest in Eastern Europe was also good.
Blackberries
Despite the shortage of raspberries, blackcurrants, sour cherries, and high prices for wild blueberries, surprisingly, there is little interest in frozen blackberries. Establishing the price level is difficult because both the demand and supply of this berry in frozen form remain low.
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