Considering the export of fruit and berry products from Ukraine, walnuts, frozen berries, and apples constitute a significant part of exported products. This opinion was expressed by the Director of Development of the Ukrainian Horticultural Association (UHA), Kateryna Zvereva, in a commentary to Agravery.
She noted that for six months of 2020, these products’ export decreased by 14% – from 31.2 thousand tons to 26.8 thousand tons. At the same time, in value terms, this indicator not only did not decrease but also increased by 2.4% – from $ 61.8 million to $ 63.3 million. Compared to last year, apples showed the most significant stagnation. For six months of 2020, 1.5 thousand tons of apples were exported to the EU, with a total value of $ 1.1 million. In comparison, from January to June 2019, 3.8 thousand tons of apples were supplied to the EU, with a total value of $ 2.4 million.
“The main reason for this decline is the low apple harvest in 2019. The prices for the most popular fruit in the domestic market were quite high throughout the season, as a result of which many farmers gave priority to selling apples in the domestic market. Besides, the decline in the apple harvest in 2019 and a large number of low-quality apples made it difficult to form export consignments. Accordingly, even those who initially planned to carry out export sales were forced to reduce the volume of supplies abroad due to a lack of products,” explained Kateryna Zvereva.
Demand for nuts and frozen berries from European importers remained high. Export proceeds from the sale of nuts and berries amounted to $ 34.1 million and $ 28.0 million, which is 4% and 6% higher than last year.
“In the first half of 2020, there was an increase in interest in Ukrainian nuts from European buyers. The main reason was the collapse of supply chains due to the introduction of quarantine, as a result of which the supply of products from Asian countries was difficult. Accordingly, buyers were looking for “closer” options. According to forecasts, we can say that this year is expected to increase the production of apples, respectively, and the export of this category will also grow,” added Kateryna Zvereva.
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