Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Ukraine: demand for sour cherry exceeds supply
The processors live through the peak of season of sour cherry purchase now. The enterprises go on complaining on the absence of large shipments supply on market. At the present moment the producers set the sales prices for the processors on the level $0.2-0.6/kg. This price is almost comparable to the past year price level; however, not everyone is able to purchase the volumes needed for the current processing capacities. The enterprises try to compensate the lack of raw materials - they purchase small shipments in the households from the local population. The formed situation is preconditioned by acreage reduction of the old sour cherry orchards and relatively small percentage of the producers willing to grow sour cherry in new intensive orchards. Moreover, the orchards in Western Ukraine were partially frost-injured this year; in its turn, this fact affected the total amount of sour cherry supply on market.
Because of the same reason the prices for strawberry on the freshmarket have exceeded this year the benchmarks of the past year. The number of buyers has increased as well. The holders of quality sour cherry sell product for $0.6-1.2/kg at the present moment; this price is 20-50% higher than in the previous year. They consider the sales to be quite successful. At the present moment Russian wholesalers take an active interest in purchasing Ukrainian sour cherry; also those companies are interested which specialize on sour cherry freezing in Poland. A considerable part of sour cherry harvest was killed during the May frosts in that country.
To the opinion of the specialists of "Agrooglyad: Vegetables and Fruits" journal, the interest to this fruit production will grow among the national producers, in no small measure due to the growth of the segment of freezing. The introduction of the modern technologies of cooling, storage and packing will contribute to the development of this branch. Let's remind that Ukraine belongs to world leading producers of sour cherry.