Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Produce Wholesale Trade is Developing Rapidly in Ukraine
During the second international conference-exhibition "Fruits and Vegetables of Ukraine 2005" the participants were assured the development rate of the wholesale trade of fresh vegetables, fruits and berries exceeded all expectations. It was disclosed that already several Ukrainian companies have invested large sums into facilities for fruit and vegetable handling, packing and storage. In particular, SHUVAR and FRANCO-TERMINAL companies, both sponsors of the conference, purchased imported lines for produce handling and packing. They will be able to supply quality, sorted and packed produce to quickly developing supermarket chains in Ukraine.
Many representatives from wholesale companies participated in the conference and attended exhibition. Some of them have already purchased and others are still planning to install modern equipment for produce washing, sorting, peeling, handling, packing, cooling and storage. The large number of people who came to visit booths of the companies during the exhibition confirmed this. Solutions for fruit and vegetable handling, packing and handling turned out to be a very popular topic. It appears in 2006 we can expect another burst of activity, as wholesale companies will probably invest a great deal into the development of their facilities.
In the opinion of Agricultural Marketing Project's analysts, large investments in this industry will lead to fundamental changes in the structure of the produce business in Ukraine. Despite the fact Ukrainian farmers are actively increasing fruit and vegetable handling and storage capacities, not everybody can afford these rather expensive technologies. This year, immediately after the harvest farmers sold major volumes of marketable produce to wholesalers; this produce could have been stored. We may see this trend again next year where wholesalers actively purchase fruits and vegetables during harvesting period and then trade them during the following 6-8 months.
We foresee prices on many fruits and vegetables to remain high in 2006; however, Agricultural Marketing Project analysts say there may be a price decrease on a few vegetables, white cabbage in particular.