May 21 2007, 09:50

Ukraine will export early vegetables to Russia, Belarus and Baltic countries

To the opinion of the experts of CIS produce business periodical ""Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal", relatively low prices for early vegetables and berries in Ukraine may contribute to the growth of these products export to the markets of Russia and Belarus, and also to the EU countries: Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and even Poland.

At the present moment early potato of Ukrainian origin is more than twice as cheap than Polish early potato. The same price difference is observed for early cabbage: this product is sold for about $1.1/kg on the wholesale markets in Poland. Greenhouse products are cheaper in Ukraine as well.

It is worth mentioning that Russia traditionally observes a certain deficit for early vegetables and berries; this country banned the import of early produce from Poland and Georgia. Moldova has recently achieved the limited opportunities to supply early fruits and vegetables. Even if the price difference on Russian, Belarussian and Ukrainian markets is insignificant, Ukrainian suppliers find the export of early vegetables and berry products profitable due to small distance and the possibility to reimburse VAT. In this regard we expect the export supplies from Ukraine to significantly increase in the nearest future.