According to EastFruit analysts, in 2023 Ukraine became one of the top suppliers of frozen raspberries to the Canadian market for the first time in history. Ukraine increased exports by more than 50% compared to 2022 and became the sixth largest supplier in the ranking of the largest frozen raspberry exporters on the Canadian market. Only Chile, Serbia, the USA, Mexico and China managed to export more of these berries to Canada in 2023.
Ukraine also exported 4.5 times more frozen raspberries than Poland in 2023 to this very important market. By the way, Poland in 2023 reduced exports of these berries to Canada by more than half. Also, in the ranking of exporters, Ukraine is ahead of such major players as Morocco and France, although back in 2022 Morocco exported more raspberries to Canada than Ukraine.
“One of Ukraine’s main problems when exporting frozen raspberries is the low value of the product. Considering that Ukraine is a neighbor of Poland – the global leader in frozen raspberry exports, many Ukrainian exporters, basically, performed the function of procuring and freezing raw materials for Polish traders and freezers. At the same time, Polish companies were sorting, packing and marketing Ukrainian products, adding, according to my rough estimates, from US $50 to $80 million per year of value to Ukrainian berries, which helped them finance local production and procurement. However, now, it is obvious that Ukraine already has sufficient volumes and experience in growing high-quality products to take the next step and begin to independently invest in the processing, sorting, packaging and marketing of frozen berries without the mediation of Poland, keeping the added value in the country,” says Andriy Yarmak, Economist, Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Sounds like the process of reducing dependence on exports to Poland has already begun. In recent years, Ukraine has increased raspberry supplies to Canada faster than all other leading exporters. Every year, frozen raspberry exports from Ukraine to Canada grew, according to Canadian trade statistics, by an average of 57.7%. By comparison, annual shipments of frozen raspberries from Chile to Canada decreased by 6.4% per year, and from Serbia – by 18.1% per year. Their share was partially taken by Ukrainian exporters.
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