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February 23 2018, 09:42 FreshPlaza

Ukraine: revenues from fresh fruit exports increased by 37% in 2017

"The revenue generated by Ukraine from fresh fruit exports increased by 37% ($ 25.5 million) in 2017. Moreover, the country exported a record volume of domestic fresh fruits and berries (excluding re-exports), and we expect this record to be broken again in 2018, since the marketing tests carried out with our products on world markets have been extremely successful," said Mr. Andriy Yarmak, Economist of the FAO Investment Center.

The fruit and vegetable sector generated $ 414 million in revenue for Ukraine in 2017, with fresh fruit and vegetables and nuts accounting for 238 million, and processed products for 176 million. "This is only 2.5% of the total revenue from the agricultural sector, but exports within this subsector are growing faster than most others," he said.

The most money was generated by tomato concentrates and fruit juices, with about 31% of the total. The second place is for nuts, with $ 101 million, or 24% of the total revenue from exports. Fresh fruit generated almost the same amount: 94 million and 23% of the total. The rest corresponded to other processed and fresh vegetables, with about 22%, the expert explained.

The economist of the investment department of FAO also said that the fruit and vegetable sector has recovered very quickly from the loss of the Russian market. "In fact, it has started to grow even faster!" And what is most important, there has been an emphasis on quality and value added; exactly what we need right now," the expert said.

"Moreover, companies are actively searching for new markets, so the forecasts for 2018 are very positive," Mr. Yarmak stressed.  

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