Blueberry prices in Ukraine continue to drop rapidly, and this berry is already cheaper than in the second half of July 2022, EastFruit project analysts report. At the same time, key market players note that the fall in prices for blueberries in mid-July is not a new phenomenon: as a rule, it is at this time that active berry harvesting begins, which causes an increase in supply on the market.
Blueberry prices in Ukraine continue to drop rapidly, and this berry is already cheaper than in the second half of July 2022, EastFruit project analysts report. At the same time, key market players note that the fall in prices for blueberries in mid-July is not a new phenomenon: as a rule, it is at this time that active berry harvesting begins, which causes an increase in supply on the market.
According to the project’s daily monitoring data, only since the end of the last working week, blueberries in Ukrainian farms have fallen in price by an average of 20%. Today, the main sales of this berry are carried out by farmers at 80-150 UAH/kg ($2.19-4.10/kg), while a week earlier, they did not agree to ship blueberries cheaper than 100 UAH/kg ($2.73/kg).
According to the producers, the price decline in this segment provokes several factors at once. Thus, the offer on the market has increased compared to last week, as most farmers have started mass harvesting. At the same time, blueberry production in Ukraine has grown significantly this year as new plantations planted earlier begin fruiting this season.
In addition, pressure on prices is exerted by large volumes of relatively inexpensive seasonal fruits and berries on the market. It should be noted that today blueberries in Ukraine already cost an average of 10% cheaper than in the same period last year. At the same time, Ukrainian berry growers do not exclude that they will be forced to continue to give way in price if demand in this segment remains the same.
Earlier, EastFruit project analysts prepared an overview of the blueberry market in the EU countries and separately in Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia. It should be noted that blueberries in Central Asia are still expensive exotics and have yet to grow. However, the first commercial plantations have already appeared, and in Moldova, the area under the berry remains relatively low. But Ukraine, Poland, and Georgia grow and export significant volumes of this berry.
