Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Ukrainian fruit and vegetable sector infrastructure still not ready to enter EU market
Ukrainian fruit and vegetable export geography has significantly changed under conditions of the ban on imports in Russia and lack of possibilities to export to Russia through Crimea, said Mr. Fedor Rybalko, Co-Founder of West Retail, at the 12th International Conference «Fruits & Vegetables of Ukraine-2015. Reload».
«Under those conditions, Ukraine was forced to redirect its fruit and vegetable exports. However, Ukrainian exporters have faced several problems with that», he said. «First of all, the situation showed that the Ukrainian fruit and vegetable sector infrastructure is absolutely unprepared for entry to the EU market».
According to Mr. Rybalko, cucumbers and tomatoes were in the highest demand in the EU among Ukrainian vegetables, and melons, watermelons and berries were the most popular fruit export categories.
«However, Ukrainian exporters had to use the so-called gaps in the EU market: periods between shipments of domestic and imported produce. At the same time, Ukraine is still not ready to regularly export to the EU due to problems with logistics and lack of experience».