The lack of a local industrial production of garlic in Ukraine stimulates imports. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, products that help fight various viruses and increase immunity have been very popular in the past year. One of these products is garlic, the medicinal properties which have long been known to Ukrainians, UCAB writes. That is why in 2020 the imports of garlic increased by 34% compared to the previous year and amounted to 7.1 thousand tons. Compared to the indicators from 5 years ago the imports of garlic have doubled.

The main supplier of garlic for Ukraine is China, which accounts for 73% of imports. This is completely natural, since this country is a leader, even a monopolist, in world production and exports of garlic. China in 2019 produced 76% of the world’s garlic and exported 70% of the total world’s exports of garlic.

“Ukraine ranks 10th in the world ranking of garlic producers, producing 215 thousand tons of garlic in 2019. However, it should be noted that 99% of production volumes are concentrated in households. Only 1% is produced by small producers who find it difficult to ensure stable supplies in significant volumes, for example for chain supermarkets. This leads to an increase in imports of garlic in line with the growing demand,” Svetlana Lytvyn, an analyst at UCAB, explains.

Сообщение Ukraine has doubled the imports of garlic in the last five years появились сначала на EastFruit.

Garlic production in Georgia is decreasing every year. Geostat data for 2020 has not yet been published, but data for 2019 shows that the production of garlic was cut in half. In 2018, the country produced 4,600 tons of garlic but by 2019 this figure dropped to 2,100 tons. The highest rate in the country was recorded in 2013 when the garlic harvest yielded 7,200 tons.

Running parallel to these figures shows that imports grew. In particular, according to the National Statistics Service of Georgia, the country purchased 501 tons of garlic in 2018, 1,437 tons in 2019, and 2,845 tons in 2020 according to the BPN internet portal.

So what is the reason for the decline in domestic production of garlic and the increase in imports?

According to the founder of the Farmer of the Future organization Rusudan Gigashvili, there is no research and analysis of the domestic market for annual crops. Therefore, producers have no opportunity for planning, which makes it difficult for smallholders to balance supply and demand.

“In general, in the case of annual crops, it is very difficult to predict. For example, it is very difficult for farmers to predict what dynamics of supply and demand may be in the next year. This is especially true for family farmers. Such analytical conclusions should come from the state: it is necessary to show what the past year was like, summarize how satisfied the domestic market was, what volumes were tied to imports, etc.

“Just with garlic 5 years ago, there was a shortage of products and prices for garlic soared. The next year, all the farmers decided to plant garlic without fail. As a result, we got overproduction. Therefore, it is very difficult to calculate all this correctly without preliminary planning. Farmers should be assisted by local authorities. The authorities must guide farmers in the right direction by informing which crops may be in priority, which is most in demand, and so on but as soon as the question of planning comes up, officials tense up, fearing that the word itself is either related to Soviet rule or implies government intervention in private business.

“This is the wrong approach to business. In European countries and America, there is not only a one-year but also a ten-year action plan. What products will be the priority in the next 10 years, what should be the focus, etc? In our case, it would be nice if we adhered to this,” said Rusudan Gigashvili.

Read also: China renews garlic export record, strengthening monopoly in the global market

However, according to the expert, Georgian farmers have other reasons to reduce the sowing of garlic. It is not only an increase in imports and competition but also the high cost of seed garlic plus inappropriate agricultural techniques and pesticides, which significantly reduce the harvest and shelf life of garlic. As a result, there is a discrepancy between the costs of growing and prices of selling garlic.

Givi Ginturi, a farmer in the high mountain village of Kirbali in the Gori municipality of Eastern Georgia who is a beneficiary of the state support program for farmers, told EastFruit about the family business, which his father was also involved in. According to him, the cultivation of garlic in their high-mountainous village was a profitable business in the past, especially since the storage of this product is not associated with special difficulties. A couple of years ago, his garlic plantation occupied about two hectares, but the difficulties he faced forced him to abandon the family business: “I was so tired that even for my own needs I no longer wanted to plant it – I bought it on the market. Yet, in October 2020, I took a chance again and now I’m waiting for June when the garlic harvest will begin.” Givi Ginturi is optimistic. According to him, under decent weather conditions, he collects 8 tons of garlic from 1 hectare. As the farmer assures, Georgia may do well without imports and provide itself with garlic.

As a rule, unfortunately, only a narrow group of specialists show interest in one agricultural crop or another, but with garlic, it turned out somewhat differently. In this matter, the agrarians are unanimously trying to draw attention to the fact that without proper analysis, planning, assistance, and promotion of domestic production in all directions, Georgia may be among the laggards even though it had a rather optimistic position.

Сообщение Garlic production decreasing and imports increasing in Georgia появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit analysts, in 2020, China strengthened its dominating position in the global garlic market, increasing exports by 28% compared to 2019. Thus, for the first time, one country exported more than 2 million tons of garlic in a year, and exports reached an impressive 2.25 million tons.

To compare, Spain, being second in the world ranking of garlic exporters, sold maximum 185,000 tons of these vegetables per year. Apart from Spain, only one more country globally – Argentina – sold more than 100,000 tons of fresh garlic per year, and this happened only once.

The share of China in the volume of international garlic trade is usually close to 80%. However, in 2020 it may increase even more, although many countries, amid growing demand for garlic, also increased their production and exports.

China exports the largest volumes of fresh garlic to Southeast Asia countries: Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia. Besides, Pakistan, Brazil, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates are also major sales markets for Chinese garlic.

Russia is also one of the ten largest importers. In 2020, the country sharply increased its imports of Chinese garlic by 40%. During the year, Russians bought record 54,000 tons of garlic from China. Ukraine is only 38th in the ranking of garlic buyers from China, but in 2020 the country imported 58% more Chinese garlic than a year earlier, and the volume of imports reached 5,600 tons. For the first time in recent years, in 2020, Uzbekistan began to buy Chinese garlic directly from China, and its imports reached 2,400 tons. Kazakhstan imported 2,900 tons of garlic from China — almost three times more than in 2019, and Kyrgyzstan — 3,500 tons, 45 times more than a year earlier!

Netherlands is the largest importer of Chinese garlic among the EU countries, and in 2020 it increased imports by a third — up to 36,100 tons.

Сообщение China renews garlic export record, strengthening monopoly in the global market появились сначала на EastFruit.

The Garlic Producers Association of Ukraine has begun to cooperate with British entrepreneurs in the exports of garlic according to the head of projects for the association Julianna Mussa, reports AgroPortal.ua.

“For half a year, negotiations were conducted regarding Ukrainian varieties and the quality of the product itself. The UK withdrew from the EU in 2020, but trade rules have remained unchanged for now. In 2021, the UK is changing the rules of trade. If we are talking about the study of this product, then this is not the first time people are interested in Ukrainian garlic,” says Julianna Mussa.

When exporting in 2020, a Euro-1 phytosanitary certificate or a certificate of origin and certificates of the relevant authorities were needed upon request, but GLOBALG.A.P. certification remains preferred. “Without a GLOBALG.A.P. certificate. it will be difficult to get garlic on the market shelf,” notes Ms. Mussa.

Read also: Rising shipping costs negatively affect the export of garlic from China

She added that the following varieties of garlic were sent to the United Kingdon: Lyubasha, Lyubava Tavricheskaya, Kharkovsky Violet, Duchess, Sofievsky, and Irene.

“Soon we expect a positive answer because some countries question the quality of Chinese garlic and the cultivation process itself: how it is grown, what is added, what fertilizers are applied, and how the final product is processed. The fundamental problems for Ukrainian garlic producers are proper storage and proper transportation. Storing vegetables remains a big problem for Ukrainian farmers and cooperatives,” says Julianna Mussa.

Сообщение Ukraine sent batches of different garlic varieties to the UK появились сначала на EastFruit.

ProduceReport reports that the harvesting of garlic is nearing completion in China, and, according to all preconditions, the country will store a record amount of this product this year. According to analysts, China’s warehouses will contain about 4.6 million tons of garlic, which is 30% higher than last year’s volume.

Such a significant increase in production has already provoked a decline in prices for garlic in China. Thus, high-quality purple garlic is now offered in China at $ 0.64 / kg, which is half the level of last year. The current average price for white varieties is $ 0.36 / kg, which is also significantly lower than in the same period in 2019.

Nevertheless, market participants are quite optimistic about the season and expect prices to strengthen in the future. Firstly, the demand for garlic in the domestic market will increase significantly ahead of the Chinese New Year (early February 2021). Secondly, Chinese exporters also expect strong demand from overseas buyers due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the confidence of many consumers in the immune-strengthening properties of garlic.

China is the largest exporter of garlic in the world, and its share in world trade is around 70-80%. Key export markets for Chinese garlic include Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the Middle East, and Europe. In January-August of this year, China managed to export about 1.42 million tons of garlic, which is 38% higher than the export volume in the same period in 2019.

Сообщение Garlic production in China hits record in 2020 появились сначала на EastFruit.