Business news from Ukraine

This year, Ukrainian gardeners will finally be able to make money on apples, as prices for these products have risen not only in Ukraine but also around the world. And winegrowers, although they received a smaller harvest, received good prices for it.

Taras Bashtannyk, President ofthe Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association, told SEEDS about the end of the apple and grape season in Ukraine.

Taras Bashtannik, President of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association

– Many Ukrainians have not had a good harvest of apples this year, and it is said that this is the main reason for the high prices of these fruits. Is this true?

– This year’s apple harvest in Ukraine is actually quite good. For once in many years, Ukrainian apple producers are making some money.

But there are no cheap apples and there will be no cheap apples. Everyone knows that the price of apple concentrate has tripled, which has also raised the price of an ordinary apple. And the price of concentrate has risen because of crop failure and problems with oranges, especially in Brazil.

The fact is that apple concentrate is an analog or substitute for orange concentrate and juice. Orange concentrate and juice are now very expensive, and as a result, there is a huge demand for apples and their concentrate.

This year can definitely be called an “apple year”. Compared to last year, the profit for apple growers has roughly doubled. But just as apples have become profitable this year, they can also become unprofitable next year.

“Apple growers in Ukraine have been suffering for the last five years, either because of the weather or the price. At least this year was a good one for them. Now I wish them the wisdom to reinvest their earnings properly.

– What prices for apples can we expect in the near future?

– I think that prices will be high. That is, they will grow. But, in my opinion, it will not be some kind of global growth, because there are stocks.

And it is likely that the price of apples will grow until spring in sync with the cost of storage, inflation, and the devaluation of the hryvnia. In other words, these are the macroeconomic factors that will have an impact, but not speculative ones.

– If massive and prolonged power outages start again in Ukraine, will they affect the formation of new apple prices?

– Unlike the same freezing, an apple storage facility is certainly a large refrigerator, which required large investments to build. But in terms of energy consumption, it is not that powerful.

That is, the owners of the company who built the storage facility for millions of dollars will find the funds to buy a 100 kilowatt generator. And these additional costs will have little impact on the cost of storing products. Therefore, we should not expect that during power outages everyone will quickly sell their products.

– Is the number of apple orchards in Ukraine increasing, or are they being uprooted?

– Some people uproot old orchards. Some simply change the varieties. But I can’t say that it is a mass phenomenon. Those who are engaged in gardening professionally continue to do so.

And some even expand their areas thanks to grant programs. Given the excessive profits, especially this year, I think that the area of apple orchards in Ukraine will be further expanded, in particular, due to new varieties that have the potential for an expert.

Because those orchards in Ukraine that were planted 10-15 years ago usually have outdated varieties that are not in demand in foreign markets. Therefore, they need to be changed, but again, this is an investment. And from year to year, apple growers have always had financial problems.

– Lately, you can often see giant apples in stores and markets in Ukraine. What is the reason for this, or is it just a coincidence?

– To be honest, I haven’t noticed that this is a widespread phenomenon. Usually, medium and medium-large caliber apples are exported. It is quite possible that extra-large or small apples go to retail chains.

Yes, this year apples have a good price in Ukraine, but apple prices have gone up globally. Moreover, systemic players will not rush in different directions, looking for where it is more expensive or cheaper. They prefer to fulfill their contracts or obligations. Therefore, I think that even despite the logistical difficulties, all the fruit will go abroad, according to the contractual agreement.

– What export destinations would you recommend to Ukrainian apple producers?

– I would recommend expanding exports to the East, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, the Emirates, and Indonesia. It is better to choose this direction, because in Europe it is rather “crowded” for Ukrainian apples.

– What kind of harvest did Ukrainian farmers enjoy or, on the contrary, disappoint?

– As for grapes, this year we are facing a crop failure due to a terrible drought. I talked to farmers about this, and they say that it was not so much the spring frosts as the severe summer drought that affected the harvest.

Those who had drip irrigation – those farms were “on a horse”. They got a fairly good harvest, and most importantly, they sold their products at a fairly high price. 40-45 hryvnias per kilogram is a lot for table grapes.

Grapes have once again shown that it is a good and promising crop for Ukraine, but we need to invest in technology. This includes pruning, approaches to growing, storage, and especially watering. The climate is changing, especially in the South. And grapes are a more southern crop. The farther south the plantations are, the more dramatic the issues with this year’s harvest were.

– Today, vineyards are “migrating” further north, how massive is this process?

– Of course, they are trying to shift grape growing to the North. The climate itself is drifting. It’s just that grapes are not such a “fast” crop, unlike vegetables. It is difficult to plant it immediately and get a quick harvest and profit in the same year.

Modern technologies allow us to get a certain harvest only in the third year. But viticulture is also about experience, time, and tradition. Traditionally, grapes are grown in the Odesa region, so it is easier to find specialists for pruning, harvesting, and any other work there.

I am also confident that grapes will gradually be adapted to grow in more northern regions of Ukraine. Actually, Austrian white wines are popular all over the world. But is the climate in Austria warmer than, say, the same Khmelnytsky region? Of course, we need to study this topic in more detail.

But I’m sure that since the Soviet Union, and even later, Ukrainian agricultural science has not paid attention to the central or northern regions in terms of grapes. And no one even thought that grapes could be grown in Zhytomyr.

I am convinced that everything will develop with grapes in Ukraine. Especially, perhaps, with table grapes, not with technical varieties.

Even in Norway, certain peach clones grow quite normally near the fjords. If you choose the right variety, you can grow anything.

Source: https://www.seeds.org.ua/yabluka-ta-vinograd-prinesli-cogorich-nadpributki-ukrainskim-virobnikam/