This is precisely the view of Vitalii Sydorenko, Director of Yarofruit LLC, one of Ukraine’s leading exporters of frozen fruits and berries. According to this industry practitioner, the 2025 season presented an unexpected export opportunity for Ukrainian frozen cherries.
The 2025 sour cherry season in Ukraine began with considerable uncertainty, EastFruit analysts report. Due to spring frosts, farmers feared major crop losses. In many regions, they doubted whether harvesting would happen at all. These concerns were frequently echoed by both market experts and Ukrainian growers. Indeed, in several regions, commercial cherry orchards did suffer damage. At the same time, a large volume of sour cherries ripened in household gardens, as is typical—though previously, this source had not been seen as commercially significant.
“The situation in this segment changed drastically due to high prices,” says Sydorenko. “From the first days of the season, procurement prices for fresh cherries from households for processing reached record levels, at UAH 80–90/kg (approximately $1.93–2.17/kg). This immediately mobilized the population—people who had never harvested cherries before began doing so to sell them.”
The massive harvest by the population led to the formation of one of the largest batches of frozen sour cherries in Ukraine in the past decade—a development that processors had not anticipated before the season began.
“According to our modest estimates, Ukrainian processors have already sourced at least 20,000 tonnes of frozen sour cherries from households this year. And this figure does not include cherries from commercial orchards. For comparison, official data show that last season, the total volume of frozen cherries from both household and commercial growers did not exceed 20,000 tonnes.”
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As supply surged on the domestic market, raw material prices began to fall. By mid-July, prices had already declined to UAH 70–80/kg ($1.69–1.93/kg).
“This positively affected processors,” explains Sydorenko. “The decline in raw material costs allowed for a reduction in the final cost of frozen products.”
From an export perspective, the European market is open to Ukraine, as sour cherry production in the EU is expected to decline this season due to unfavorable weather conditions in spring 2025. This creates a strategic export window for Ukrainian frozen products.
Currently, Ukrainian stone fruits are actively exported to Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, and northern EU countries. Ukraine’s key competitive advantages include:
• Attractive pricing
• High product quality
• Convenient logistics
As of mid-July, the indicative export price for frozen pitted sour cherries from Ukraine stands at UAH 169–193/kg ($4.08–4.66/kg). For frozen cherries with pits, prices range from UAH 131–145/kg ($3.14–3.49/kg) EXW, depending on quality, size, and packaging. Compared to other Central and Eastern European suppliers, this is a very competitive offer. For reference, wholesale prices for frozen pitted cherries from major EU producers currently stand at UAH 193–203/kg ($4.66–4.89/kg).
As Sydorenko concluded: “The pessimistic forecasts for the sour cherry segment did not come true. High prices early in the season motivated households to harvest intensively, which allowed even small and large freezing companies to build up substantial raw material stocks. Thanks to this, processors secured enough sour cherries for freezing, and today’s export prices allow us to look optimistically at the prospects for expanding Ukrainian exports to Europe.”
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