The profitability of the business of growing Echinacea purpurea reaches 210%. At the same time, more than 170 thousand UAH ($ 6.1 thousand) net profit from investments in cultivation at the level of 85 thousand UAH/ha ($ 3.05 thousand) can be obtained from one hectare. 

This opinion was expressed by the technologist-consultant for the cultivation of medicinal plants of the company Shlesem-Ukraine Olexander Gubanev during the online webinar “Industrial and Home Growing of Herbal and Root Groups of Medicinal Plants,” which took place on September 9. The event was organized by the Ukrainian Horticultural Business Development Project (UHBDP).

During the webinar, Olexander Gubanev elaborated on the practical aspects of growing this crop. As noted by a specialist in the market of medicinal plants, Echinacea purpurea is a crop that is easier to grow than valerian. This is due to the fact that earlier, the culture was brought from North America, a region where it was grown in harsh conditions. “This prompted echinacea to adapt to growing in critical conditions,” noted Olexander Gubanev.

At the same time, the main nuances in the cultivation of echinacea lie in the correct preparation of the soil in the fall. “The soil should be leveled or cultivated to a depth of at least 20 cm. Quite often, farms that grow medicinal plants suffer losses due to drought because plants die from a lack of moisture. At the same time, a critical agricultural technique is loosening to a depth of at least 30-35 cm. The purpose of this event is to destroy the soil sole as much as possible. The fact is that when farmers plow to a depth of 20-25 cm, then a soil sole 3-5 cm thick is formed behind it. It is very hard and forms a rupture of soil moisture to the upper soil layer. I can give a guarantee that after deep loosening at least once every three years, especially in the southern regions of Ukraine, you will feel the effectiveness of this agricultural activity in the first year “, said the technologist-consultant for the cultivation of medicinal plants of the Shlesem-Ukraine company.

Olexander Gubanev also emphasized that echinacea’s raw materials are usually harvested in the second year of the growing season. In the first year, the plant’s yield is not high – a maximum of 5-7 c/ha of the root. “However, the main thing is that the roots of one-year-old echinacea are quite thin in structure, and during harvesting, they remain in a lot of soil. In the second year of the growing season, we are already harvesting two crops. The first of them is the grass in the phase of mass flowering, and in the autumn, we collect the root itself,” Olexander Gubanev said during the webinar.

The specialist also claimed that the demand for echinacea had increased sharply today due to the global coronavirus pandemic because this plant is an immunomodulator for various diseases. “Against this background, the price of echinacea has doubled. If last year for 1 kg of grass, you could get 20-25 UAH ($ 0.72-0.90), currently the price is 40 UAH / kg ($ 1.44). The price of a root currently is about UAH 120 / kg ($ 4.31),” said Olexander Gubanev. The specialist also noted that with the correct observance of all the necessary measures, from 1 hectare, it is possible to get 15 c/ha of dry root and about 35 c/ha of dry grass.

As for the varieties of echinacea, Olexander Gubanev especially singled out the variety “Princess,” which was earlier brought to Ukraine from Germany and currently is not cross-pollinated with other varieties. “However, if we talk about the yield of echinacea, it depends not on the variety, but the culture of agriculture, including fertilizers, sowing technology, and tillage. These are the main parameters of success in this business,” emphasized Olexander Gubanev.

He also noted that the bulk of the raw materials grown in Ukraine are currently sold in foreign markets. Some of the raw materials remain in Ukraine and are used to manufacture medicines or the food industry.

As noted by the Director of the Development Department of the Ukrainian Horticultural Association (UHA), Kateryna Zvereva, currently, the market for the sale of medicinal herbs is diverse.

“Significant interest in medicinal plants is shown by both EU countries and Asian and North American states. However, the bulk of Ukraine’s exported medicinal and aromatic raw materials falls on the EU. The annual consumption of raw materials in the EU countries is 400-420 thousand tons. This market’s annual growth is about 5% per year,” the director of the Development Department of UHA emphasized.

Сообщение Producer: When growing echinacea, the profit reaches $6100 per hectare появились сначала на EastFruit.

Due to its favorable geographic location, as well as favorable conditions for farming, over the past few years, Ukraine has become one of the leading suppliers of organic fruits and vegetables to the markets of Western Europe, occupying, as of the beginning of last year, the 4th place among the supplying countries in EU.

This is stated in the “Research of the Ukrainian Market for Organic Fruit and Vegetable Products-2019“, which was carried out at the initiative of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Business Development Project (UHBDP) with the participation of specialists from the certification body “Organic Standard,” as well as the educational and consulting project Organic Business School.

As the authors of the study note, currently, Ukrainian exporters of organic fruits and vegetables are actively using the advantages of the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine and the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, which is part of the Agreement.

The research emphasizes that additional control measures over Ukrainian products introduced in the EU in January 2016 do not apply to fruit and berry and vegetable crops, simplifying the EU’s export of fruit and vegetable products. At the same time, the study notes that competition, especially in the developed EU market, is relatively high. “Therefore, Ukrainian exporters need to prepare very carefully for the supply and promotion of their products to this market,” researchers report.

The largest organic markets in the world are concentrated in the USA, Germany, and France. Thus, in percentage terms, the US organic market has a 47% share of the world market, and the EU organic market – 37%.

“These are the areas of export of organic products from Ukraine that can be a priority. Although Ukrainian exporters should also pay attention to countries such as Switzerland, Canada, and Asian countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates, Japan, and China,” authors of the study noted.

The UHBDP also notes that organic vegetables have the largest market share among all categories of organic produce.

In countries such as Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, and Sweden, organic vegetables account for 10% or more total vegetable assortment sales. In comparison, organic fresh carrots and pumpkins account for almost 30% of Germany’s corresponding product segment.

Analyzing the Ukrainian organic fruit and vegetable market, the authors of the study draw attention to the fact that some product categories have an advantage in terms of sales on the external market, and some on the domestic market.

“In particular, Ukrainian producers of organic vegetables sell their products mainly on the domestic market through supermarket chains (Silpo, Auchan, Good Wine, WineTime), small specialized stores (Natur Boutique, Eco Lavka), Internet, direct delivery to end consumers through the organic basket concept, or through a store near the farm. The products are sold fresh. The assortment of fresh organic vegetables on the Ukrainian market includes potatoes, beets, carrots, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions, garlic, radishes, beans, lettuce, arugula, spinach, Swiss chard, cilantro, dill, basil, eggplant, zucchini, sweet corn, white cabbage, broccoli, kale, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, Peking cabbage, and Kale cabbage.

Organic fruits, including berries, are sold mainly for export to the EU and Switzerland. Partially, these products can also be found in the domestic market. For example, such products are watermelon, melon, pumpkin, grapes, blueberries, lingonberries, blackberries, raspberries, garden strawberries. These products are sold mainly fresh, although the berries are also sold frozen,” researchers reported.

It is noted that fresh organic apples supplied from Ukraine to foreign markets are intended only for further processing in the country of export. “The decision on whether to export fresh apple or apple concentrate from Ukraine is made depending on the market situation and the cost of logistics,” the authors of the study explained.

It should be noted that, in addition to cultivated organic fruit and berry products (raspberries, garden strawberries, chokeberries, apples), Ukrainian operators also sell wild plants: blueberries, blackberries, lingonberries, cranberries, elderberries, chokeberries, blackthorns, rose hips, sea buckthorn, mountain ash, wild strawberry, apple, and nuts.

“In total, about 20 Ukrainian operators export only wild berries. At the same time, 3 Ukrainian operators export walnut kernels, but only obtained as products of wild plants. The export of nuts grown in the fields of farms is not yet conducted. The main reason for the absence of such shipments is the young age of the walnut plantations and insufficient volumes for export,” the study explains.

The study also states that in 2018, 8 exporters supplied organic raspberries to EU markets, grown by 28 Ukrainian producers.

“An analysis of the importing countries of this berry shows that Ukrainian producers export their products to countries such as Poland, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Serbia, and the United Kingdom. What is more, every year, the geography of Ukrainian organic exports raspberry increases,” authors of the research noted.

Сообщение Research: Ukraine becomes one of the leading exporters of organic fruits and vegetables to EU markets появились сначала на EastFruit.