Poland increases imports of berries faster than any country in the world thanks to exports from Ukraine

EastFruit continues to share interesting points from the presentation of FAO economist Andriy Yarmak during the final berry event of Moldova for 2023 called “Berry Market 2023”, organized by the association of berry growers of Moldova “Pomuşoarele Moldovei”.

According to the expert, among the 10 fastest growing markets for berries in the world, Poland was the leader in terms of relative import growth rates. On average, Poland annually increased its berry imports by 24% or US $68 million, and the main reason for this was the opportunity to purchase inexpensive fresh and frozen berries from Ukraine. As we wrote earlier, in the last 5 years Ukraine has been the world champion in terms of growth rates of berry exports, and Poland was the main market for Ukraine’s fresh and frozen berries.

Fasted increase in imports by Poland was noted in the segments of fresh blueberries and frozen raspberries. It was exactly these categories that were the fastest growing in the exports of berries from Ukraine, and it was for these berries that Poland remained the main market for Ukrainian companies. Fresh blueberries and frozen raspberries accounted for more than 60% of Poland’s berry imports in 2022.

China increased its berry imports a little slower than Poland – by 21% per year. As for the growth in absolute terms, the United States had no equal here. Imports of berries to the United States grew by an average of 14% per year, but in absolute terms, the United States annually increased imports of fresh and frozen berries by US $578 million! That is why it is very important for suppliers from Ukraine to pay attention, first of all, to this market, as well as to the Canadian market, where the annual increase in berry imports amounted to more than $95 million.
Also in absolute terms, the Netherlands and Germany showed high growth rates in berry imports – by $133 and $114 million per year accordingly.