Something to note at the beginning of the 2021/22 potato season was the exports of Ukrainian potatoes to Belarus, which EastFruit wrote about. However, later exports were stopped for technical reasons, that is, upon the establishment of non-tariff barriers to exports.

Given the record low prices for potatoes in Moldova, which has also traditionally been a sales market for Ukrainian potatoes, as well as continuing problems with access to the EU potato market, potato prices in Ukraine were the lowest of all countries in the region, as the potato harvest was quite high.

During the 17th international conference “Fruits and Vegetables of Ukraine 2021. New Investment Opportunities”, Vladyslava Magaletska, Head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, informed that the state authorities know about the problems of Ukrainian potato growers and are looking for solutions to them.

In particular, Vladyslava Magaletska wrote on her Facebook page: “At the end of this year, our neighbors (Belarus, EastFruit) established new standards for the exports of Ukrainian potatoes. Now we are working on an agreement with colleagues to extend the exports on mutually beneficial terms. We are also negotiating the possibility of exporting Ukrainian potatoes to the EU countries. This issue was also raised during my visit to Brussels. I am convinced that Ukrainian potatoes will soon be consumed in many European countries!”- said the head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection.

Read also: Potato market in Eastern Europe – an overview of prices, trends, and prospects

Experts note that access to potato sales markets alone will not be enough to boost Ukrainian exports. “Unfortunately, the main problem of Ukrainian potatoes is not a lack of access to markets, but a low quality compared to potatoes grown in EU countries. I have been saying this since 2010, when I helped create the Association of Potato Producers of Ukraine. Then we gathered the largest potato growers of the country and buyers of the leading supermarket chains in Ukraine. Even these relatively low quality standards suggested by supermarket chains were rejected by the majority of Ukrainian potato growers. According to my estimates, losses for the country from low-quality potatoes on the shelves of Ukrainian supermarkets reach UAH 10 billion a year. Instead of billions of dollars in losses, potatoes could bring the country considerable export earnings,” says Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

By the way, the conclusions of the FAO expert are confirmed by practice. During the conference “Fruits and Vegetables of Ukraine 2021. New Investment Opportunities”, Thomas Carpenter, an Irish potato grower who recently started growing potatoes in Ukraine, shared the results of his work in the country. In particular, his potatoes turned out to be 10 times better than that of most Ukrainian professional potato growers, due to adherence to all elements of the cultivation technology, harvesting potatoes with high-quality equipment and correct handling.

In the first 10 months of 2021, Belarus imported about 9.5 thousand tonnes of marketable potatoes from Ukraine – 5.5 times more than in the same period in 2020 and became the main supplier of potatoes to Belarus.

According to EastFruit analysts, marketable potatoes are now becoming a very popular commodity of international trade again and are among the top 10 fruit and vegetables in terms of exports growth. At the same time, in recent years, Ukraine has been turning into a net importer of potatoes, which means that it is losing the competition, primarily in the struggle for quality.

Сообщение Exports of potatoes from Ukraine to Belarus have stopped, but can be resumed появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit analysts note a positive trend in Ukraine’s work on improving access to the leading markets for fruit and vegetables.

Given the crisis on the apple market in Europe this season described in detail in the article #Freshapplecrisis it is especially relevant for Ukrainian growers who work to improve access to the Egyptian apple market.

“Poland exports to Egypt about 100 thousand tonnes of fresh apples per season, and Ukraine does not supply a single tonne, despite the logistics for exporting apples to Egypt from Ukraine being better than that of Poland. The main reason is that Poland enjoys the advantages of duty-free trade with Egypt, and Ukrainian suppliers would have to pay import duties, which makes their apples uncompetitive in this market.” explains Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“If Ukraine had the duty-free access to the Egyptian market like Poland, according to my estimates, it could export up to 10 thousand tonnes of apples there, helping to mitigate the crisis on the domestic apple market. In addition, Egypt is one of the world’s largest importers of apples with the ongoing upward trend, which makes it very promising for Ukrainian farmers. Since Ukraine imports quite large volumes of citrus fruits from Egypt, apples would be a good way to optimize logistics for reloading. It is incredibly important now, and it would also reduce both the cost of importing citrus fruits and the cost of logistics for exporting apples.” the FAO expert notes.

During the 17^th international conference “Fruits and Vegetables of Ukraine 2021. New investment opportunities” held in Kyiv on 2-3 December 2021, Vladyslava Magaletska, head of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, talked to the Ukrainian growers and representatives of the Ukrainian Horticultural Association. Just a few days later, on 16 December, Vladyslava Magaletska reported on fruitful negotiations with the Egyptian party.

“I continue to work in Egypt as part of our delegation. I will immediately dwell on the main issues that can intensify trade and economic relations between the two countries,” she wrote on her Facebook page. Among the key points of the negotiations was the “Opening of the Egyptian market for Ukrainian apples. Today our apples are subject to additional duties, and as a result, they lose in price to Polish ones. We must resolve the situation and establish equal conditions.” In addition to apples, they also discussed the opening of the market for blueberries and cherries.

Ms. Magaletska also reported on the negotiations with the Egyptian colleagues responsible for phytosanitary and veterinary areas of cooperation: the Head of the Central Plant Quarantine Administration Ph.D. Ahmed Kamal El-attar and the Head of the General Veterinary Service of Egypt Dr. Abdelhakim Mahmooud Mohammed and other officials.

“Egypt is a very interesting country for Ukrainian growers. It is a gateway to Africa and a country of enormous potential and a population of 100 million. Therefore, we will work on expanding our cooperation and creating new opportunities for producers,” Vladyslava Magaletska said.

Let’s hope that duties on Ukrainian apples will be canceled before the end of the 2021/22 season. Apple prices on the Ukrainian market are now about 2 times lower than last year, affecting investments in horticulture, especially in the context of rising costs on fertilizers, plant protection products and other cost elements.

In addition to the State Service on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Economy, which are removing technical obstacles to trade, have noticeably intensified their efforts to improve access to new sales markets. They also urge industry associations to more actively engage in the work and help officials with the search for the most relevant directions for export development.

The geography of Ukrainian apple exports is constantly expanding. In particular, Ukrainian apples have recently become a trend in the markets of Sub-Saharan Africa.

Сообщение Ukraine negotiates duty-free apple exports to Egypt to compete with Poland появились сначала на EastFruit.