Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Lesson of 2014/15 apple season unlearned by Ukrainian apple growers
The apple season 2014/15 was characterized by several unprecedented factors, inclusive of Russia's ban on apple imports from the EU, Moldova and Ukraine. Those factors were a good lesson for growers from those countries, a lesson, which, however, was not learned by Ukrainian apple producers.
«Under conditions of Russia's embargo, Polish and Moldovan apple growers quickly managed to diversify their shipments despite Russia previously being their main export market», said Ms. Tetiana Getman, Head of Fruit-Inform, during the 5th International Conference «Apple Business of Ukraine-2015». «Under those conditions, Polish and Moldovan growers managed both to raise their presence in other export markets and significantly expand their export geography».
For example, Poland's apple exports to Germany more than doubled in the previous season, while shipments to Russia went down by 35%. Moldova opened the markets of Turkey, Georgia, Egypt and Middle East, while exports to the Russian Federation fell by 40%.
«At the same time, Russia still accounted for the share of 98% in Ukraine's total apple exports with produce being shipped to Russia mainly through Crimea», added Ms. Getman. «Accordingly, the Ukrainian apple sector stands every chance to get into a mess in case of Crimean sales channel shut-off».