September 14 2010, 09:06 Fruit-Inform

Ukraine is among five largest importers of apples in the world

According to estimations of analysts from “Fruit-Inform”, in the season 2009/10, Ukraine entered a group of five largest importers of apples in the world. According to official data, within the season, Ukraine was supplied with about 265 thousand tonnes of apples, whereas experts estimate real import volumes to be even more. Imports kept on growing, notwithstanding dynamic growth of domestic production and increase of share of intensive high-yielding gardens in area structure.

Simultaneously with imports of apples, Ukraine intensified exports of them. As to results of the season 2009/10, Ukraine entered a group of 20 largest exporters of apples in the world and took 7-8-th places in Europe concerning exports of this category. According to Andrey Yarmak, Head of the project “Fruit-Inform”, growth of imports against a background of growth of exports of apples was explained with poor infrastructure of apple market. As a result, it was more profitable for Ukrainian supermarkets to purchase cheap and ready-for-sales apples in Poland, and for Ukrainian producers to export their apples to Russia, where importers offered higher prices than supermarket chains in Ukraine. Besides this, some reexports took place.

According to A. Yarmak, in the following years Ukraine will cut imports of apples and increase exports of them.

Detailed information about Ukrainian and global apple market and prospects of its development during the following years is in the fundamental study “Apples of Ukraine: situation and prospects of production, storage, post harvest handling, processing, and marketing” that will be available already in October. You may find out more about the study here.