In 2023, Ukraine resumed the construction of vegetable storage facilities, with 15 units built with a total capacity of about 10 thousand tons, Andriy Marushchak, Commercial Director of Van Dyke Techs LLC, told Interfax-Ukraine.
“In the first war year, only one storage facility with a capacity of 1,000 tons was built in Ukraine for storing potatoes in the Kyiv region on the basis of Brovary Potato LLC. In 2023, we can talk about a revival of the market, as 15 storage facilities with a capacity of 10 thousand tons were built. Farmers are far from reaching the pre-war level of investment – in 2021, they built potato storage facilities for 51 thousand tons, and these were mostly large projects with a capacity of 10 thousand tons. Only two market participants invested in projects of 2 thousand tons each,” he said.
According to Marushchak, farmers in Chernihiv, Vinnytsia, Ternopil, Lviv, and Cherkasy regions built small vegetable storage facilities. They are designed mainly for storing onions (85% of the built capacity) and potatoes (15% of the capacity).
It is noteworthy that the farmers used their own funds for the construction, earned from the sale of vegetables at record prices set in the fall and spring of 2022-2023 MY due to the shortage of these products in the country caused by the loss of the main vegetable-growing regions – Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, he explained.
“Farmers will definitely not be able to increase the potential lost by the country on their own. After all, Kakhovka alone had vegetable storage facilities with a capacity of about 150 thousand tons. To restore them, more than UAH 3-4 billion will be needed. In addition, when restoring industrial vegetable production, it is advisable to take into account the “mistakes of the past” and avoid concentrating vegetable storage in one region. Their storage should be dispersed across all regions, each of which should cover its own needs by at least 50%,” the expert added.
Marushchak reminded that the construction of a potato storage facility with a capacity of 1 thousand tons costs a farmer UAH 10 million. A vegetable storage facility with a capacity of 4-5 thousand tons and a potato storage facility with a capacity of 2-3 thousand tons are optimal for storing vegetables. They are equipped with a sorting and packaging line, which, depending on the type and capacity, costs from UAH 4 to 20 million.
“Ukraine will not be able to restore the industry, which primarily meets the needs of the domestic market, without government assistance or regional programs aimed at developing industrial vegetable production,” the expert stated.
He added that targeted regional assistance is needed for farmers in Cherkasy and Dnipropetrovs’k regions who have the ability to provide irrigation necessary for growing vegetables. Given the willingness of farmers to invest in the construction of storage facilities, Vinnytsia region and regions of western Ukraine could also benefit.
Marushchak emphasized that the investments required to build and equip such vegetable storage facilities are quite large and beyond the means of micro and small farmers, and also beyond the means of farmers who grow vegetables on areas of up to 500 hectares.
As reported, according to vegetable sector experts, Ukraine needs 1.4 million tons of potato storage capacity and 300 million tons of vegetables to meet the needs of the domestic market. The optimal storage capacity for carrots should be 80 thousand tons, beets – 20 thousand tons, onions – 120 thousand tons, and cabbage – 80 thousand tons.
Before the war, Ukraine had a total of about 800 thousand tons of storage capacity, of which 600 thousand tons were for potatoes, and 200 thousand tons were for other vegetables.
