Fruits, in particular, apples, well withstood weather conditions, the harvest is expected to be at the same level as last year, but overproduction could reduce due to exports, Head of Ukrsadvynprom Volodymyr Pechko has said.
“We are expecting a harvest at the level of last year for fruits (in particular, apples). We hope for an increase in exports this year,” Pechko told Interfax-Ukraine.
According to Taras Bashtanyk, the director general of the Ukrainian Berries company, stone fruits are in a good condition as well.
“In our zone, stone fruits survived the weather. If Belarus works, then the prices will be good, but if Belarus does not work and the whole crop remains in Ukraine, then the prices will not be very good. As for the other berries: there are strawberry harvest losses only in western regions (Lviv, Ternopil regions). There losses make up 20-30%, in some farms even 40% due to frost, hail and hurricane,” he told the agency.
According to him, due to adverse weather conditions, Poland lost a significant part of strawberries this year.
Ukrsadvynprom unites more than 170 enterprises from different regions of Ukraine.
Ukrsadvynprom has asked the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine to adapt the program of state support for horticulture for berry enterprises, as well as expand the list of wine making regions, Ukrsadvynprom members have said this at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine.
“The markets of the United Arab Emirates and Singapore accept berries only in small packaging – 125 g. It is impossible to manually prepare large volumes of berries in packaging of 125 g each. Therefore, we need optical sorting and packing lines for blueberries. And it would be good if berry enterprises could claim compensation for purchasing sorting lines [as well as apple growing enterprises],” Taras Bashtanyk, the director general of Ukrainian Berries, said.
According to him, berry enterprises also need chambers with an adjustable gas environment, which allow them to store berries without loss of quality for up to 45 days. So producers will be able to sell berries after the harvest season, when the price is more profitable. Now the volumes of refrigerators with adjustable gas environment, which are provided for by the state support program, are too large for berry enterprises.
Bashtanyk also noted that, when exporting to remote markets, berry enterprises face logistical difficulties.
Ukrsadvynprom unites more than 170 enterprises from different regions of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine considers the opening of Uzhgorod airport to be only a temporary solution to the problem of air links with Zakarpattia, Minister of Infrastructure Volodymyr Omelyan has said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
“The opening of the airport in Uzhgorod is a temporary solution. For us the construction of a new airport, either in Mukachevo (most likely) or in another city, will be the key one. But this requires money,” he said, adding that the construction of a new airport in Zakarpattia will cost UAH 2-3 billion.
“We always emphasize that Zakarpattia cannot be the territory cut off from Ukraine. It must have a full-fledged road, rail and air communication. As a state, we have achieved this and opened the airport [in Uzhgorod]. Now the question is it should work qualitatively,” Omelyan said.
According to him, for the normal work of the airport a lot of work should be done at the regional level.
“They should interest airlines, offer passengers a product so that the planes are not empty, and then plan convenient flights,” the infrastructure minister said.
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine at a Wednesday meeting approved a concept for development of the Boryspil international airport until 2045, with investment of UR 3.4 billion and the increase in passenger flow to 53.9 million passengers a year (today 12 million passengers a year).
As noted in the airport’s development concept, which Interfax-Ukraine has, the airport should provide services in 2019 to 14.4 million passengers, in 2030 to 27.7 million passengers, in 2040 to 44.3 million passengers and in 2045 to about 53.9 million passengers.
It also planned that additional land parcels of about 600 hectares will be allocated for the development of airport infrastructure at the expense of land owned or used by individuals or legal entities.
For the delivery of cargoes, the construction of a separate road to the industrial and technical zone on the south side of the airport and the possibility of building an underground railway to the airport’s central terminal are envisaged.
Boryspil International Airport is the main airport of Ukraine, occupying a total area of about 1,000 ha. The airport has two runways: one with a length of 4,000 meters and a width of 60 meters, and the second with a length of 3,500 meters and a width of 63 meters. Four passenger terminals, postal and cargo handling complexes are located on the territory of the airport.
