Ukraine may face a critical shortage of seasonal workers for raspberry harvest in 2026, the head of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association (UFOA) Taras Bashtannik said.
According to him, without attracting foreign labor, the country will not be able to harvest raspberries and maintain its position as an exporter of this berry.
As noted in the publication, the area of raspberries in Ukraine in 2024 was about 5 thousand hectares, and the need for labor is estimated at about 15 pickers per 1 hectare. Thus, the season requires more than 70 thousand workers only for raspberries. Labor shortages are also affecting blueberry and strawberry farms, as well as apple orchards.
Volodymyr Gurzhyi, the head of USPA Fruit gardening company, said that in 2026 Ukrainian companies plan to import workers to orchards, including from Bangladesh and Nepal, similar to the practice in Serbia. At the same time, taking into account the growth of orchard areas, the additional need may amount to at least 100 thousand pickers.
