According to EastFruit analysts, a historic event took place in 2024: Ukraine, which practically did not export frozen raspberries ten years ago, for the first time became the world leader in terms of net exports of this berry, surpassing not only Poland but also Serbia, the long-time leader in this segment.
In 2024, according to trade statistics, Ukraine’s exports of frozen raspberries reached a record 65 thousand tons, showing a 34% increase over the year. This was a much faster increase than any other major exporter. In general, over the past three seasons, Ukraine’s exports of frozen raspberries have more than doubled, while Serbia has maintained its performance at the same level and Poland has reduced its exports by 24%.
It is worth noting that Ukraine imports only small volumes of raspberries, unlike Serbia and especially Poland, which actively purchase them abroad. In Polish exports, the share of imported raspberries already exceeds 52%, with the bulk of Poland’s purchases coming from Ukraine. In fact, almost half of the frozen raspberries exported by Poland are of Ukrainian origin. It is the affordable Ukrainian raspberries that allow this country to maintain its position among the world market leaders.
If we analyze net exports, Ukraine supplies 65 thousand tons of frozen raspberries to foreign markets, while Poland supplies only about 16 thousand tons. Thus, in 2024, Ukraine exported four times more frozen raspberries than Poland!
Interestingly, in terms of total exports of frozen raspberries, Ukraine is still slightly behind Serbia. In 2024, Serbia exported 67.7 thousand tons of raspberries, while Ukraine exported 65.1 thousand tons. However, Serbia imported 4.7 thousand tons for further re-export, which reduced its net exports to 63 thousand tons, which is 2 thousand tons less than Ukraine.
“The key step to consolidating Ukraine’s global leadership in frozen raspberry exports will be further diversification of sales markets. To do this, Ukrainian exporters need to improve the quality of raspberries and invest in their processing and marketing, which will help to increase the average export price. Higher export revenues could be used to improve products, increase their quality, and expand production. Currently, many Ukrainian producers of frozen berries export to Poland the raw materials that Polish processors sort, pack and re-export, leaving the added value in their country,” says Andriy Yarmak, economist at the FAO Investment Department.
The process of diversification of frozen raspberry exports from Ukraine is already underway. It is noteworthy that Poland played a significant role in this. Farmers’ protests against imports of raspberries and other agricultural products forced Ukrainian exporters to look for new markets, which turned out to be much more profitable than the Polish market. The additional income of Ukrainian raspberry producers was reinvested in expanding production and processing in Ukraine, which accelerated Ukraine’s ascent to the global raspberry export Olympus.
Between 2022 and 2024, Poland’s share of Ukrainian raspberry exports decreased from 63% to 35%. Instead, the share of Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria, and France, key markets for Polish exporters, more than doubled to 48% of direct exports from Ukraine. Ukraine is actively gaining market share in Poland, which has been made possible by improving the quality of its products and the level of their processing.
Over the past three years, Ukraine’s exports of frozen raspberries to Germany have increased 4.5 times, to the Czech Republic 4.2 times, to Austria 33 times, and to France twice. In 2024, Ukraine also exported over 2,000 tons of raspberries to Belgium, Italy, and Lithuania for the first time.
In addition, Ukraine is rapidly increasing its exports of frozen raspberries to Canada and the United States, markets that offer much higher prices than the EU. Three years ago, Ukraine did not supply products to these countries, and now it often outperforms its Polish competitors in terms of exports.
Among the unusual export destinations for frozen raspberries, it is worth noting the first commercial deliveries of Ukrainian products to Argentina and Saudi Arabia.
Given the high prices for raspberries in the previous season, EastFruit analysts predict that in 2025 and in the 2025/26 season, Ukraine will update its raspberry export records and strengthen its leadership. In particular, already in 2025, Ukraine may overtake Serbia in terms of total exports of frozen raspberries.
