According to EastFruit price monitoring data, in 2025, Ukraine has already set new price records for sour cherries and blackcurrants intended for freezing and prices continue to rise. Such abnormally high prices have never been seen before, driven by significant crop losses due to spring frosts across Eastern and Central Europe, as well as in Turkey.
Today procurement prices for sour cherries for freezing in Ukraine range from 60 to 85 UAH/kg, equivalent to 1.2-1.7 EUR/kg, with a tendency for further increases. Interestingly, blackcurrants, which in some years are difficult to sell, are this year priced even higher than sour cherries and are actively purchased by freezing companies at 70–90 UAH/kg (1.4–1.8 EUR/kg). Ukrainian fruit farmers are also quite satisfied with the rapidly rising prices for raspberries this year.
However, such high prices for sour cherries and blackcurrants do not always guarantee substantial profits for Ukrainian fruit growers, EastFruit notes. Many producers, particularly those growing sour cherries, lost part or all of their harvest in 2025. Those who managed to preserve their crops can now rejoice, as prices significantly exceed production costs, yielding substantial profits. This highlights that investments in frost protection systems, especially amidst rapid climate changes, pay off quickly.
On the other hand, there are challenges for processors and consumers of these products. Such expensive raw materials require unforeseen financial resources, and the interest rates in Ukraine are very high, making procurement operations very costly. Additionally, there is a risk that prices for frozen fruits and berries, which are presently very high in Europe, may drop in the second half of the season if food industry companies switch to cheaper raw materials in their recipes.
Read also: Comparison of Blueberry Prices in Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, and Uzbekistan
The production cost of frozen sour cherries in Ukraine, based on current procurement prices, will reach at least 3.2-3.4 EUR/kg, factoring in processing, financing, handling, storage and losses. This price leaves little room for profit for frozen sour cherry producers unless European prices are sustained above 4 euro per kg. Frozen blackcurrants would need to be priced at around 3.6 EUR/kg for processors to achieve minimal profitability and at 4 euro or more to achieve the usual margins.
This is undoubtedly bad news for food industry companies, which are now actively seeking cheaper alternatives, such as Egyptian frozen strawberries, exotic frozen fruits from Vietnam and other Asian countries, and products from Central Asian countries, where stone fruit harvests were abundant in 2025.
The use of the site materials is free if there is a direct and open for search engines hyperlink to a specific publication of the East-Fruit.com website.
