Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Crimea, Ukraine: growers of early strawberries to lose their sales market
Changes in the political status of Autonomous Republic of Crimea may negatively affect the farms growing fruits and berries in the peninsula. Fruit-Inform analysts believe that Crimean growers of early strawberries will primarily face the problems despite their success in arranging sales through Ukrainian retail chains achieved with great difficulty over the past few years.
Crimea traditionally opens the domestic strawberry season in Ukraine. Farmers pick first strawberries in summer greenhouses in the second half of April – early May. Growers have to ship their strawberries to neighboring regions right after the first outputs as the local demand in Crimea is rather low during the off-peak season.
Having declared itself a part of the Russian Federation, Crimea will most likely be forced to stop shipping strawberries to Ukraine, the country which does not accept the treaty on Crimea joining the Russian Federation. In such a way, Crimean farmers will practically lose their market as sales possibilities in Russia will be hampered by logistical problems.
We would remind you that the market experts believe that the Ukrainian strawberry sector development is thwarted by too long distance to main target markets in the Russian Federation and lack of post-harvest cooling equipment in farms. In addition, Crimean farmers usually grow strawberry varieties, which are often unsuitable for transportation to Ukrainian regions, needless to say about longer distances.
More detailed information about the Ukrainian berry market development will be presented at the 5th International Conference “Berries of Ukraine-2014: Frozen Produce & Fresh Market” which is to take place on May 22-23, 2014, Feride Plaza, Vinnytsia, Ukraine. All information about the event is available here. To take part in the conference, please fill out an application form, or contact International Relations Department of Fruit-Inform:
tel: +380 562 320795 (ext. - 341)
cell: +380 96 5836323 (Ievgen Kuzin)
e-mail: [email protected]