High prices for berries in the 2025 season were caused by spring frosts, which damaged 20-50% of the crop in a number of regions of Ukraine, as well as global market conditions, said Taras Bashtannik, president of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association (UFVA).
“If we talk about prices in 2025, losses for all major berry items ranged from 20-50%, primarily due to spring frosts. All major exporting countries of the main items – strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and cherries – also suffered crop losses,” he said at the Agro2Food exhibition.
The head of the association noted that high product prices allowed producers to compensate for the final financial result.
Bashkanik recalled that during the years of war, Ukrainian berry farming lost a lot of production areas, in particular in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, where early berries were grown.
“We can only state that, for example, from 2022 to the present, many perennial plantations have been planted, including 3,800 hectares under the state grant program. And without state assistance, we are talking about 4,500-5,000 hectares. In total, berry growing is currently carried out on 17-20 thousand hectares,” said the head of the UPOA.
According to the expert’s estimate, 95% of all raspberries grown in Ukraine are currently processed, mainly for freezing. At the same time, 95% of this product is exported.
“From 2017 to 2025, Ukraine has gone from being a net importer or having a zero import-export balance of frozen raspberries to becoming the largest exporter of frozen raspberries in Europe,” said Bashtannik.
According to his information, no more than 5% of cultivated blueberries in Ukraine are processed. The rest is mostly exported fresh for economic reasons. However, there is a rapid global trend in this crop: in the US, 50% of blueberries are processed, and in Europe, 30%. In Ukraine, this figure is approaching 30%.
In Ukraine, 25-30% of the gross harvest of garden strawberries is processed. Almost the entire volume of processed products remains in Ukraine for domestic consumption.
“Unfortunately, we have to admit that Ukraine, as a producer and exporter of frozen strawberries, has no place in Europe and the world, given the costs and prices offered by Morocco, Egypt, Tunisia, and China,” said the expert.
Speaking about the production of jams and preserves, Bashtannik noted that craft production dominates this segment. Its products are sufficient to meet the needs of HoReCa, while retail mostly covers the needs of Ukrainians through imports. The production of several powerful domestic players is not enough to meet the needs of supermarket shoppers.
“If we don’t take into account any black swans that may or may not appear, the expectations for 2026 in the industry are positive. Ukraine will continue to increase its presence in the European market for fresh and processed berries. Despite the labor shortage, we look more attractive in terms of cost compared to European countries. Therefore, we will take market share from countries that have traditionally dominated the European market. These are Poland and Serbia, first and foremost,” summarized the head of the UPOA.
