Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Ukrainian fruit growers favored by hryvnia devaluation
Ukrainian fruit growers' position in the internal market is favored by devaluation of the national currency in the country, as sales of domestic produce have recently grown thanks to an increase in prices of imported apples.
According to Fruit-Inform, Ukrainian importers have regularly tried to ship apples from Poland, but lost their interest in the past few days due to the devaluation process. According to traders, imported apples are now unable to compete with domestic ones in price.
Apples from the EU are still uncompetitive in Ukraine despite cancellation of an additional import duty of 10%. Prime cost of Polish apples now stands at at least UAH 13.50/kg (EUR 0.50/kg) in Ukraine, and importers' prices vary between UAH 14-15/kg (EUR 0.52-0.55/kg). For comparison, high-quality apples of Ukrainian origin are offered averagely at UAH 10/kg (EUR 0.37/kg), but farmers have been gradually increasing their prices of high-quality produce.
We would remind you that prices of Ukrainian apples in the UAH equivalent were 20% lower in January 2015, while USD prices were 10% lower.