According to an expert in the Moldovan berry business, director of Anastasia Trading&Service SRL Dmitry Dodica, berry farmers will have to build production and commercial plans this year, taking into account the very likely closure of Russian food market to Moldovan suppliers at least in the first half of the year. Moreover, even if the issue of delivering goods to customers is somehow resolved, both sides will have to look for payment options, perhaps more than once. The loss, otherwise it does not look like it yet, of the Russian market will be especially painful for the exporters of open field strawberries. They account for virtually the entire volume of external supplies, which are done in a short period – the end of June and the first half of July, 3-4 weeks maximum.

According to the heads of canning enterprises, the processing of strawberries in 2022 will be even more complicated than last year. Besides the quality issue, there is the difficulty in providing glass and plastic packaging. Freezing strawberries in Moldova is extremely poorly developed.

The problem of exporting raspberries is less serious so far, the expert says. Due to the expected reduction in the supply of Ukrainian raspberries to Poland, the demand for Moldovan raspberries (for freezing) will probably increase in Poland and, possibly, Romania and Serbia this year. Also, the demand for Moldovan blackberries can appear on the Polish market, and demand for currants – on the Romanian market.

According to expert estimates, over the past few years, the gross production of berries in Moldova has fluctuated in the range of 9 000-11 000 tonnes, among them about 7 000-8 000 tonnes of strawberries and 1 500-2 000 tonnes of raspberries. The country’s berry-growing sector is still highly dependent on weather conditions at key stages of the production cycle, especially during the harvest period. The quality is often unstable, the volumes of biological harvest and marketable products can vary greatly. On top of all, the main share of berry plantations is concentrated in small farms. There are currently few “berry clusters” with an integrated system: farmer cooperatives, harvesting companies with sorting/storage/packaging centers and export traders with transport logistics and stable foreign buyers (for example, strawberries – in the village of Kunicha, raspberries – in the village of Pokrovka in the north of Moldova).

In the previous three years, Moldova exported about 2 000-3 000 tonnes of strawberries, 1 000-1 500 tonnes of raspberries, several hundred tonnes of blackberries and currants. Almost 100% of strawberry exports were oriented to the Russian market, only last year several tens of tonnes of berries were exported to Romania. All Moldovan export strawberries go to the “fresh market”. Raspberry supplies are more diversified: the Russian market is still important, however, the Polish market buying industrial berries for freezing has become more important in the structure of Moldovan exports since 2020.

Сообщение In which markets can Moldovan berries be sold in 2022? появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit analysts in their study of trends in the global frozen raspberry market noted that Russia has become second in the world in terms of increasing imports of frozen raspberries after Poland.

Notably, despite the rapidly growing global prices for raspberries, Russia continued to increase imports in 2021. Since the raspberry harvest in Serbia has fallen sharply, imports from Serbia have also declined, and alternative suppliers have had to be sought.

Thus, the imports of raspberries produced in the EU countries and Ukraine and supplied through Belarus has grown sharply. Imports of frozen raspberries from Belarus to Russia increased by a third and reached 14 000 tonnes in the first 10 months of 2021. However, noteworthy was the involvement in this business of new countries that had not previously exported frozen raspberries to Russia.

We already wrote that frozen raspberries were exported to Russia by Uzbekistan for the first time. According to market participants, Uzbek enterprises bought fresh raspberries for freezing even in neighboring Tajikistan! The supply of frozen raspberries from Uzbekistan to Russia reached quite an impressive 144 tonnes in 10 months of 2021, which allowed Uzbek exporters to earn more than $570 000 in export earnings.

Also, frozen raspberries were exported to Russia in large volumes by Kazakhstan, Morocco and Georgia for the first time. Moldova, on the other hand, increased the export of frozen raspberries to Russia by 4 times to 222 tonnes, and Kyrgyzstan – by almost 3 times to 240 tonnes.

Сообщение Russia expands frozen raspberry imports despite high prices появились сначала на EastFruit.

Average annual losses from spring frosts of fruit and berry producers in Ukraine reach UAH 2 billion. But only a few farms in the country are investing in frost protection technologies today. In the EU countries, wind machines are becoming increasingly popular, which are a perfect equipment for protecting orchards.

This opinion was expressed by Denis Moskalyov, a representative of the FROSTLEE frost protection systems for agricultural crops, during the 17th international conference  “Fruits and Vegetables of Ukraine-2021. New Investment Opportunities” on December 2-3, 2021 in Brovary (Ukraine). The event was organized by the APK-Inform project: Vegetables and Fruits with the informational support of the EastFruit International Platform and the Ukrainian Horticultural Association (UHA).

The problem of frosts is relevant and will remain so for European and Ukrainian farmers

According to Denis Moskalyov, the problem of frosts has not been sufficiently addressed in Ukraine.

“Meanwhile, the harvest losses for this reason are huge. There has been an increase in such losses in the past 10 years, and this trend, unfortunately, will continue in the future.

Thus, according to research by the APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits project, apple producers lose about UAH 700 million annually, and in some seasons their losses reached UAH 1.5 billion.

In addition, producers growing stone fruits – apricots, peaches and cherries – bear great losses from spring frosts. In recent years, the frost issue has affected blueberry producers in connection with the increase in the area planted with blueberries in Ukraine, and farmers growing walnuts,” a representative of the FROSTLEE company said.

The scale of losses is also significant in the EU countries, that annually lose of around 1.5 million tonnes of apples average, and in some years – about 3 million tonnes, excluding quality losses. In monetary terms, the annual losses of EU apple producers are estimated at $1 billion.

Denis Moskalyov cites the French agro-industrial complex as an example. The Minister of Agriculture and Food of France called the consequences of frosts this year “the worst catastrophe in the agricultural sector of the XXI century”, as they destroyed plantations on hundreds of thousands of hectares. Losses ranged from 20 to 100% of the harvest.

Since 2018, frosts in France have caused significant damage to blueberry plantations, and this year 80% of the crop has been destroyed in the country.

“Due to the large financial losses, growers are looking for systems that effectively protect their orchards and plantations from frost. Therefore, about 200 wind machines of the European brand GENER were delivered in autumn 2021, the exclusive representative of which in Ukraine is the FROSTLEE company,” Denis Moskalyov notes.

Wind machines are the most effective frost protection method to increase the grower’s profit

A FROSTLEE representative notes that farmers use various methods to combat frosts: thermal guns, film, and fire-lighting. According to Denis Moskalyov, the most effective way is to use wind machines.

The expert notes that GENER windmills carry out heat transfer using the forced convection method, taking warm air from the upper atmosphere and mixing it with cooler air in the field area. In this regard, the air temperature rises and all conditions are created to preserve the harvest.

“At the same time, the transfer of warm air masses is carried out over large areas, thanks to the rotation of the machine around its axis, which allows to spread warm air 360 degrees over the field,” explains Denis Moskalyov, adding that it is recommended to equip wind machines with thermal boosters. They help increase the efficiency of heat engines by increasing the temperature of the generated warm air by 2 degrees Celsius.

According to Denis Moskalyov, one GENER machine is capable of frost protection from 3 to 7.5 hectares of a field at temperatures down to -6 degrees Celsius.

“The effectiveness of protection directly depends on the type of crop, the model of the machine, the geolocation of the field. At the same time, GENER wind machines are planned to be delivered to Belgium, France and other EU countries in 2022,” Denis Moskalyov notes.

Among the advantages of wind machines, it is worth noting that they can be installed in any farm, berry farm or vineyard and do not depend on any infrastructure. In addition, such a protection system can be installed in a matter of days and is easy to maintain. Among other advantages of wind machines is their durability – usually the manufacturer claims from 10 years of operation, however, as practice shows, wind machines can be used much longer.

It is important that this method of frost protection pays off in the very first year of frost. In other words, these machines will not pay off only if a farmer or winegrower never encounters abnormal weather conditions during the period of use.

According to Denis Moskalyov, frosts cause direct damage to the volume of the harvest and affect its quality.

“Indeed, under improper conditions for the formation of the fruit, defects appear. In this connection, the grower will not be able to sell fruit on the fresh market. An investment in frost protection systems is an opportunity to sell a high-quality harvest at a high price in the future.” the FROSTLEE representative summarizes.

Сообщение Investments in frost protection systems are a solution for a high-quality fruit and berry harvest – opinion появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit experts consider deep freezing of berries, fruits and vegetables to be one of the most attractive investment niches for Central Asia and actively inform local investors about it. And this information is bearing fruit. Uzbekistan began to significantly increase the exports of frozen vegetables and fruits in 2021. Finally, the first enterprise for deep freezing of fruits and berries has opened in Tajikistan, with the consulting support of the FAO and EBRD project, within which the EastFruit platform also operates.

At the end of 2021, Harif LLC completed the construction and setting up of the first deep freezing plant, which is capable of processing up to 15 tonnes of berries, fruits or vegetables per day by static freezing. The enterprise was established in the north of Tajikistan, near the city of Khujand. The first freezing plant in the country will start freezing strawberries, raspberries, cherries and apricots in spring 2022. Since everything can be frozen, freezing other fruit and vegetable raw materials will also be considered – it can be plums, peaches, melons, rose hips, vegetables, and even wild plants. In the future, the enterprise may give an impetus to the cultivation of other fruit and vegetables valuable for the global market, that were not previously grown in the country.

Freezing plant “Harif” is the first enterprise of its kind in Tajikistan. Until now, there were plants for drying vegetables, canning fruits and vegetables, processing dried fruits, and producing juices in the country, but until recently there were no deep freezing factories. Thus, this is an innovative enterprise for Tajikistan. Tajikistan is famous for the high quality of fruits with a high BRIX content, and relatively low prices for the raw material. However, some of the grown products are simply lost because the possibilities of selling them for fresh export are very limited.

Local farmers, realizing that all products cannot be sold fresh, sell the remaining ones for drying under the sun or dry them themselves, but the revenue per kilogram of fresh produce is quite low. Tajikistan is famous for its dried apricots, apples, plums and dried fruit mixes. There are also several vegetable drying enterprises operating in the country. However, the sale of fresh or frozen products is much more profitable, since the revenue per hectare from their sale is several times higher than from the sale of dried ones.

By the way, dried fruits have already begun to yield market share to fresh fruits even on the market of Central Asian countries, where they are a traditional product for the local population. Supermarket chains in the region, note that fruit and vegetable freezing is also one of the fastest growing sales segments even in Uzbekistan! In particular, this was said by the manager of the Makro supermarket chain Roman Saifulin from Uzbekistan in his interview with EastFruit. Therefore, frozen fruits and berries of local production may appear in supermarkets in Tajikistan thanks to the new project.

“For me personally, the creation of the first plant for freezing fruits and berries in Tajikistan is a great victory, because it allows to demonstrate the potential of this business to other investors in the region. After all, it is much easier to export frozen fruits, vegetables, berries and wild plants than fresh ones. Deep freezing is one of the fastest growing segments of the global fruit and vegetable market. This means that the freeze will allow Tajikistan to boost exports, increase the incomes of farmers and vegetable growers, and create new jobs along the entire value chain. Fruits for freezing can be harvested in the phase of full ripeness, when their taste reaches a peak, unlike those for fresh market. Thus, I hope that, thanks to this enterprise, many countries of the world will appreciate the unique taste of Tajik fruits”, Andriy Yarmak, Economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Harif’s fruit and berry freezing facility consists of an acceptance and inspection department, blast chilling, blast freezing, storage and a cold processing and packaging department. It even has its own laboratory. The enterprise will be able to store more than 300 tonnes of frozen fruits and berries, for which a modern storage facility has been built. There is also an area for simultaneous cooling of 500 tonnes of fruit, which will allow to launch a project for the exports of fresh, chilled premium-quality products. More than 30 people will work at this innovative enterprise during the freezing season.

“We are already planning to purchase raw materials from households and farms of both the Sughd and Khatlon regions of Tajikistan. In the future, we plan to create a cooperative for growing traditional and niche berries for Tajikistan on an area of ​​about 50 hectares,” says the director of Harif LLC, Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov, who has also long been a consultant to the EastFruit project, FAO and EBRD.

Convinced of the prospects of freezing fruits and vegetables, and trying for several years in a row to convince local investors of this, Mr. Abduvohidov decided to set a personal example and create the first plant on his own, using the most modern technologies. “Ukraine earns $200 million from the exports of frozen berries alone, and Poland and Serbia – half a billion dollars each. But the climate in Tajikistan is better, labor and electricity are cheaper, the growing season for berries is longer, so there is no reason for Tajikistan not to earn money in this growing and promising market. Moreover, we will be able to make high and even premium-quality products and get a higher price for them,” says Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov.

He also notes that small farmers in the region have recently begun to engage in the cultivation of strawberries. This gives hope for a sustainable expansion of the raw material areas and the creation of an alternative to the fresh market by buying part of their products for freezing. The Harif company plans to help colleagues with information and advice on growing technologies, as well as provide with professional support of production projects.

In addition, the company built ultra-modern multi-level greenhouses for the propagation of seedlings for strawberries and brought planting material of the most popular berry varieties from Italy. Hydroponic low-volume technology is used in the cultivation, which is also an innovation for the strawberry business in Tajikistan. The company plans to create its own nursery and plantation for the industrial cultivation of strawberries of the best world varieties.

The project for the creation of a fruit and berry freezing enterprise was financed by Harif’s own funds, and freezing equipment was purchased with the support of the USAID CTJ project. Harif will produce with an export orientation. For this, it is planned to obtain HACCP, ISO 22000 and GLOBALG.A.P. certificates for the berry growers who will supply raw materials for freezing.

Сообщение The first plant for fruits and berries deep freezing opened in Tajikistan появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit analysts, walnuts, which have been leading in terms of exports revenue in the fruit and vegetable segment for many years, in 2020 their leading position was taken by frozen berries for the first time. In 2021, the leadership of frozen berries in this category was further strengthened, especially given the rapid rise in prices for frozen raspberries.

Revenue from the exports of frozen berries and fruits in 2020 reached a record $111 million, having increased by one third in a year. On the other hand, revenue from walnut exports fell by 30% to the lowest level in the last 4 years and amounted to $97 million.

“Global walnut prices have set an anti-record in 2020 due to the oversupply of high-quality walnuts in the US market. This was the main reason for the decline in Ukraine’s export earnings in this category. Last year the planting of new walnut orchards almost stopped in Ukraine, nurseries had to dispose of the seedlings, as there was no demand, and some growers began to remove fruit-bearing walnut orchards. In my opinion, this was a rushed decision. The prices for walnuts are breaking records this year again, but this time they are already record high globally.” says Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

“Unfortunately, many do not understand that walnut farming is a business for decades, so one cannot be guided by the prices of one year to make strategic business decisions. In 2020, I convinced many people that now is the perfect time to go into the walnut business, because high-quality walnut seedlings in 2020 and even 2021 could be bought really cheap. However, business needs to be viewed comprehensively and strategically. I will tell about the strategies of nuts, berries and other fruit and vegetable businesses and their successful cases on December 3 during the conference “Fruits and Vegetables of Ukraine 2021. New Investment Opportunities“. Given the opportunity of acquiring land ownership, fruit and vegetable investments are now becoming very relevant. I hope that my tips will help many to avoid mistakes at the initial stage of investment, or to adjust existing investment projects,” says Andriy Yarmak.

The expert explains the reasons for the new records in the exports of frozen berries not only by the rise in raspberry prices, but also by the growth in the production of frozen berries in the country.

“Back in 2017-2018, Ukraine could earn almost as much from the export of frozen berries as in 2020, but the freezing capacity was insufficient to process all the berries at that time, so some of berries were sold cheap to the fresh market, used for the production of juices, or even remained unharvested. In 2021, Ukraine will update the record for the exports of frozen berries. Moreover, the proceeds from their exports may even exceed $200 million! By the harvest of 2022, the capacity for freezing fruits and vegetables in Ukraine will reach its peak and Ukraine will be ready for new export records, however, global prices for raspberries in the new season are unlikely to be as favorable. Therefore, already now you need to consider the strategy for exporting frozen berries, so as not to continue losing money on delivering them to Poland, but to start a direct and more profitable exports. I also plan to tell you about this in detail during the conference” the FAO expert clarifies.

According to analysts at EastFruit, Ukraine’s exports revenue from walnuts in 2021 will also grow, but this growth will not be as sharp as the growth in exports of frozen berries. Accordingly, the revenue gap between frozen berries and walnuts will continue to narrow.

Сообщение Frozen berries will bring $200 million in revenues to Ukraine, increasing the lead over walnuts появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit analysts draw attention to a sharp increase in the exports of fruits, berries and nuts to Germany in the first three quarters of 2021 compared to previous years. Ukraine’s revenue from fruit and berry exports to Germany in this period amounted to $15.7 million, increasing by 71% compared to 2020 and becoming a record.

What fruits and nuts did Ukraine export to Germany in January-September 2021? The main revenue to Ukraine was brought by the exports of frozen raspberries, which grew 3.3 times to $5.7 million. The second position in exports was also taken by berries, but wild ones – the export of frozen wild blueberries and other wild berries to Germany from Ukraine increased by 82% comparing to 2020, up to $5.5 million. Furthermore, relatively small batches of fresh raspberries, sweet chestnuts and one batch of fresh cherries were delivered to Germany for the first time.

Although the export of Ukrainian walnuts to Germany increased by 28% in volume, the total proceeds from it remained almost unchanged. A decrease in exports was noted in the segment of frozen strawberries, watermelons and apples.

Thus, Ukraine continued its expansion into key EU markets that started even before the Russian embargo on food supplies from Ukraine to Russia was introduced and accelerated sharply after it. In addition to Germany, Ukraine increased the exports of nuts, berries and fruits to the markets of other EU countries in the first 9 months of 2021: Poland (by 85%), France (by 22%), the Netherlands (by 86%), Italy (by 70%), Austria (35%), Lithuania (95%) and others. Notably, the first 8 countries in the ranking of the main markets for Ukrainian fruits, berries and nuts in 2021 are the countries of the European Union, and only 9^th and 10^th positions are taken by Azerbaijan and Turkey. The first eight EU countries account for 72% of all Ukraine’s fruit exports!

Read also: Ukraine offers the cheapest potatoes in Eastern Europe

By the way, exports to Belarus, which, in part, is a transit point on the way of Ukrainian fruits to the Russian market, decreased by 39% in 2021.

Сообщение Ukraine sharply increased exports of berries, fruits and nuts to Germany and other EU countries in 2021 появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit analysts point out a very important and long-awaited trend in the international trade of fruit and vegetables in Uzbekistan – the export volumes of frozen vegetables and fruits increased by almost 2.5 times from January 1 to October 20, 2021 compared to the same period last year. Moreover, there was a shift towards products of a higher price category in the structure of frozen fruit exports.

According to the Uzbek Customs Committee, exports of frozen vegetables grew faster than those of frozen fruits. The exports of frozen vegetables from Uzbekistan reached 7.6 thousand tons during the specified period and increased 2.5 times in volume and 2.6 times in value, while the export of fruits and berries reached 4.7 thousand tons and increased by 2.1 times in volume and 2.5 times in value.

Table: Exports of frozen vegetables, fruits and berries from Uzbekistan from January 1 to October 20 in 2021 and 2020 (according to the Customs Committee of Uzbekistan).

According to EastFruit, Uzbekistan’s main frozen export product in the fruit and berry category was sour cherries. In January-August 2021, Uzbekistan exported 2.2 thousand tons of frozen sour cherries to the Russian Federation, which is 1.5 times higher than in the same period last year. Other frozen stone fruits were also exported, with prices this year being higher than last year, which was the reason for the outstripping growth rates of revenue over volume.

It is notable that Uzbekistan exported frozen raspberries to Russia for the first time. Considering the high prices for raspberries this year, we have already written that the areas planted with them are expanding in the country. And Russia is the second fastest growing frozen raspberry market in the world.

Nevertheless, as we see, the share of berries in the export of frozen fruits and vegetables from Uzbekistan remains extremely low, despite them being the most trendy and expensive category.

In the category of frozen vegetables, exports of bell peppers increased the most. In particular, 3 times more frozen bell peppers were supplied to Russia, the main market for Uzbek frozen vegetables, than in the same period in 2020. There was also a dynamic growth in exports of frozen broccoli and cauliflower. This category of frozen vegetables remained the main one in terms of export volume, and the supply of frozen broccoli and cauliflower from Uzbekistan to the Russian Federation doubled in January-August 2021.

“Frozen vegetables and fruits are one of the most promising segments of the fruit and vegetable business globally. In my opinion, this segment can grow steadily for quite a long time, as in many countries they do not realize the huge advantages and conveniences of using frozen vegetables and fruits both in food processing and cooking. Uzbekistan, on the other hand, is a real gold mine for freezers, because there are a lot of rather cheap fruits with a high dry matter content and excellent taste. In addition, the development of deep-freezing of vegetables, fruits and berries could give a strong impetus to the establishment of new areas of berries and vegetables, and hence the creation of many new jobs and a sharp increase in export earnings in Uzbekistan”, Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), says.

Although EastFruit analysts note the development of frozen fruit and vegetable exports from Uzbekistan, they say these are only the first steps, and the potential of this market is still enormous. The exports of frozen vegetables, fruits and berries from Uzbekistan may reach about 15 thousand tons this year. For instance, Poland exports about 800 thousand tons of frozen fruits and vegetables annually, earning almost $1 billion, that is, exports from Poland are 50 times greater than from Uzbekistan even in quantitative terms. At the same time, raw materials in Poland are more expensive, and the quality of raw materials for freezing in Uzbekistan may be higher.

Сообщение Uzbekistan significantly increased exports of frozen vegetables and fruits – analysis of exports structure and potential появились сначала на EastFruit.

Banana tree, paw paw… This is what asimina is called, the fruits of which look similar to papaya.

Amateur growers call asimina a tasty dietary product and say it has significant medicinal properties.

EastFruit journalists studied the culture, the demand for which has not yet been formed in the global market. To know how promising asimina is for commercial cultivation, which market segments are interested in it and the peculiarities of growing it in Ukraine read our material.

Asimina is almost unaffected by pests

Asimina is originally from  North America. It was cultivated there over 100 years ago. Over time, the cultivation started in Spain, Italy, Portugal, France, Japan and other countries. This explains the wide choice of seedlings from the USA, Italy and Spain on the Eastern European market.

Today, there are about 70 varieties of asimina, differing in the degree of cold resistance, ripening time, seed size. Among the most popular of them are the varieties by US breeders: Lehman’s Delight, Jerry’s Big Girl, Maria’s Joy, Shenandoah, Summer Delight, Kentucky Champion, Al Hor.

The plant is thermophilic and is used to subtropical latitudes, while it can also withstand a short-term drop in temperature to – 30 – 35 ° С. This explains the fact that in recent years asimina, in connection with global climate changes, began to be grown in Ukraine and even in the central zone of Russia.

Asimina is a cross-pollinated plant that blooms for 3 weeks (April – May). A characteristic feature of flowers is a specific sour smell that attracts insects for pollination.

As farmers note, asimina has a significant advantage over many fruit and berry trees – it is almost not exposed to diseases and pests. Asimina produced the first fruits 3 to 4 years after planting the seedling and 5 to 6 years later when grown from seeds. The fruits ripen unevenly, and when ripe, they easily break off and fall to the ground. This usually happens in September – October and the harvest lasts about a month.

Before starting the cultivation of asimina, it is worth considering that it prefers slightly acidic or neutral, fertile, well-aerated soils without stagnant moisture. It can also grow on denser soils, if equipped with a drainage layer of sand and gravel at the bottom of the planting pit before planting.

Regular nutrition of asimina with complex mineral fertilizers (in summer – weekly), together with timely watering, contribute to the better formation and growth of the tree. At the same time, closer to the harvest season – by autumn, watering is reduced, and nutrition is stopped so that the wood can get stronger before cold weather starts.

It is better to choose a plot for planting in a warm, sheltered place from the winds. Young asimina seedlings (up to 3 years) are very sensitive to direct sunlight and can suffer from intense exposure, but feel very comfortable in the shade. In mature trees, sufficient lighting will affect yield levels. Plants in the shade are characterized by low fruit production.

How much should you invest in seedlings?

In Ukraine, plant seedlings are offered mainly on the websites of trading platforms for small horticultural farms at prices ranging from 300 to 1800 UAH ($ 11.25-64.47). The price range in nurseries depends on the variety and on whether the plant is grafted or not. Planting material is sold at about the same price on Russian online trading platforms for farmers.

“Asimina is a cross-pollinated culture. There are self-pollinating varieties, but berries are small, and the overall yield is small in comparison with cross-pollination. With poor-quality pollination, berries crumble or are formed incorrectly. “ says Ukrainian grower Vasyl Mykytas.

The best option is to buy a ready grafted seedling. Their price is quite high and therefore you can buy 1–2-year-old seedlings and plant a good variety in 2-3 years.

“Besides, you can buy seeds and try to grow a seedling out of them yourself. Thus, you will save money,” says farmer Volodymyr Lesiv.

“In order to accelerate the first (signal) fruiting of asimina seedling, it is advisable to cut off the stem at the beginning of sap flow in spring and graft onto another seedling. The grafted branches form a flower bud much earlier; fruiting in no way affects the rootstock. But the farmer will have a clear idea of ​​the seedling’s potential,” Vasyl Mykytas advises.

Asimina is widely used in cooking, medicine and cosmetology.

Asimina has good medicinal properties. Plant grains contain alkaloids, so tinctures from them are used as a remedy for poisoning.

The fruits are very rich in fructose and sucrose, amino acids, vitamins (especially A and C), potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium. Their regular use helps to remove toxins from the body, restores the gastrointestinal tract and has a rejuvenating effect.

In pharmaceuticals, asimina preparations are well known as agents with anti-inflammatory and antitumor effects. Its extracts are used to improve the immune system, increase the protective properties and reduce the effects of stress, eliminate nervous disorders, psychosis. Good cosmetic properties of the fruit are also known.

Asimina can also be a dish. To do this, peel off the skin with a knife and remove the seeds.

The flesh of asimina goes well with berries, fruits, meat, nuts. With yoghurt, it is perfect for a diet breakfast. In addition, asimina is used to make smoothies, cocktails, desserts, pastries, ice cream, sauces, creams and jams.

At the same time, we note that the asimina market does not yet exist due to its rarity in the world – mainly amateur farmers cultivate it. Even in the United States, asimina has not yet become a widespread commercial crop. Nevertheless, over the past 15-20 years, significant efforts have been made in the USA, Italy and Australia to study and create collections of the gene pool of this plant.

This allows us to assume that the cultivation of asimina can be a promising niche for farmers, subject to the correct selection of varieties, adherence to the cultivation technology, as well as competent marketing promotion at the market. Today, asimina is a hobby culture, for which there is a demand on trading platforms and in the communities of amateur farmers, which allows to sell asimina fruits in Ukraine at 1000 UAH/kg ($ 37.49).

Сообщение Asimina – is commercial cultivation promising? появились сначала на EastFruit.

As soon as the prices for any fruits on the Ukrainian market decrease, people nostalgic about the times when there was a free trade between Ukraine and Russia start to complain. These are mostly farmers who believe that if there was access to the Russian market, Russia would buy all these fruits and prices would not go down.

However, if we put aside emotions and politics and look at the facts, it becomes obvious that it was the loss of access to the market Russian market that allowed Ukraine to make a real breakthrough in the fruit and vegetable business, significantly increasing both the value of exports and the quality of fruit and vegetables.

I want to emphasize that I express my personal point of view, which is based on more than 25 years of experience in international agribusiness and professional analysis of agricultural markets. My experience shows that any protectionism is harmful, primarily for a country that restricts competition. However, the Russian Federation decided to ban Ukraine and other countries from selling food products on its territory, and other countries mostly did not reciprocate. Therefore, we will just take it as a the fact and analyze the actual consequences.

I will consider the main theses of those who believe that Ukrainian farmers would be in a much better position if Ukraine had access to the Russian market and comment on them.

Thesis 1: “The exports of fruit and vegetable products from Ukraine decreased after the loss of access to the Russian market”

This is wrong. The exports of fruit and vegetable products has increased, and it happened much faster than at the time when there was access to the Russian market. Export statistics are available free of charge, for example on Trademap.org. Objections may arise that “statistics were falsified by Ukraine,” but skeptics are mistaken here – this is a statistics system created by the UN and WTO, and the data therein can be verified by requesting mirror statistics. I do this regularly, and there are no significant deviations in the data.

Let’s move on to specifics and consider the dynamics of export volumes from 2009 to 2020.

The red arrow marks 2016, when Russia banned the import of vegetables and fruits from Ukraine. It is easy to compare the indicators of 2020 and 2015, when trade was free.

It turns out that since the ban on supplies to the Russian Federation was imposed, Ukrainian fruit exports have grown by 55% or $ 84 million. 2020 was tough – abnormally late frosts destroyed the berry harvest and sharply reduced the harvest of other fruits, which makes this comparison even brighter, as we do not take as a basis any particularly successful year for exports.

By this we could put an end to the question whether there was growth or decline in exports. Obviously, without access to the Russian market, our fruit exports began to increase rapidly and are now higher than ever before.

However, it is also worth comparing the growth or decline rates of exports before and after the ban on the supply of fruits, berries and nuts from Ukraine to Russia was imposed.

To avoid data distortions, let’s take a long period before the ban, from 2009 to 2015 inclusive, and see what happened to the exports of Ukrainian fruits, berries and nuts. We estimate the trends for this period and find that Ukraine annually exported 10.7% less fruits and reduced export income by $ 17.8 million per year during this period! It means that exports showed a steady downward trend during this time considered favorable by many farmers.

Now let’s look at what happened after the ban. In 2016-2020, the average exports growth rate was 11% per year, and the revenue of Ukrainian farmers grew by $ 22.6 million per year!

What is better – an 11% drop or an 11% increase per year? What is better – minus $ 17.8 million in revenue each year, or plus $ 22.6 million?

It may seem that Russia has not influenced the Ukrainian horticultural business at all, and the growth is a coincidence. Instead, I will later explain that the ban on supplies to the Russian Federation had a huge positive impact on Ukrainian horticulture. For now, however, I will move on to the following erroneous and manipulative theses.

Thesis 2: ” European countries do not need Ukrainian fruit, berries and nuts – without Russia, there is no one to sell them to!”

In fact, such statements do not hold water and the following chart explains why.

The share of EU countries buying fruit products from Ukraine has always been higher than the share of Russia and other CIS countries. Even in 2010, when the two figures were as close as possible, the EU provided 36% of revenue, and the CIS – only 32%. In 2020, 77% of Ukrainian fruits, nuts and berries went to the EU, and only 9% to the CIS. Thus, Ukrainian fruit products were in demand in the EU even during the times of free trade between Ukraine and Russia.

Then why do many Ukrainian farmers have this wrong opinion that their products are demanded in Russia, and not in the EU? The reason is that among horticultural products Ukraine mainly sold apples to Russia. The Russian market accepted low-quality and even unsorted apples, while the EU market doesn’t need them at all.

However, farmers nostalgic about selling low-quality apples to Russia forget about two important points:

1) The Russian market has changed, and several years before the ban on supplies to Russia, the volume of Ukrainian apple exports to the Russian Federation was rapidly declining because Russia also demanded higher quality of apples.

2) Apples have never been the main export commodity of the Ukrainian fruit segment. The share of apples in the exports of fruit products of Ukraine in 2012-2015 was about 3%. By the way, in 2016-2020, the share of apples in exports increased to 5%, even despite the aforementioned overall sharp increase in export earnings!

Thus, the figures once again confirm that only farmers who have poor growing technologies and apple quality think Russian market was essential for the Ukrainian horticultural industry. It is also obvious that they still do not have credible information about the developments on the Russian apple market.

Thesis 3. The Russian market is the most promising one for selling Ukrainian fruits

Undoubtedly, Russia is a huge sales market. However, Ukraine and Russia are located in similar climatic zones, so the range of fruits, berries and nuts grown in these two countries will be similar. Also, if something is grown in Ukraine and is demanded but not grown in Russia, there is no reason why it cannot be grown in the Russian Federation. Therefore, it is more reasonable to target markets where your products can be unique.

Let’s analyze the trends in the Russian market in order to understand whether it is promising, or, conversely, dying?

To begin with, let’s look at the top 10 world importers of fruits, nuts and berries and analyze long-term import trends. Russia became seventh at the end of 2020. Among the 10 largest world importers of fruit products, Russia is the only country that reduces imports of fruits, berries and nuts! We analyzed all the products, including the exotic! This means that among the 10 largest importers, Russia is the least promising fruit market.

Is the global fruit market declining? Do other regions also show a drop? Let’s look at global trade statistics again and get this picture.

The global average growth rate of imports of fruits, berries and nuts is an impressive 4.0% per year, and the top 10 importers are increasing imports even faster – by 4.5% per year. At the same time, Russia is reducing imports by 1.4% per year. By the way, the European Union, which allegedly does not need Ukrainian fruit, is also increasing imports, unlike the Russian Federation, and the growth rates are relatively high – 2.7%, although lower than the world average.

Undoubtedly, the European Union is a more promising sales market for fruits, nuts and berries from Ukraine than the Russian market, given market trends.

Even if these facts, which are easy to verify, are not convincing enough, you can turn to the example of neighboring Moldova that has free access to the Russian apple market. In 2020, apple harvest in Moldova was at a record low for recent years. At the same time, as of June, apple stocks of Moldovan farmers were record high, prices were almost record low, and still there was no demand for Moldovan apples in Russia. As a result, having grown and stored them for 8-9 months, Moldovan farmers were forced to sell high-quality apples for processing at bargain prices.

Why doesn’t Russia need Moldovan apples? The reason is the same for why open access to the Russian market would not solve the problems of Ukrainian farmers having poor fruit quality – there is a wide choice of fruits in the world and Russian consumers prefer higher quality products. In our article on the reasons for the low prices for Ukrainian apples this season we wrote in detail about the rapid expansion of Turkey. And Iran may even become the world leader in apple exports at the end of the 2020/21 season!

Nevertheless, Russia has continued to develop its own production all these years. It also has serious problems with its product quality. Therefore, low-quality fruits remain in low demand in Russia – there are too many of them. And, as you know, the cheaper the product, the less profitable it is to transport it, because transportation has a greater share in the cost of cheap products than in the cost of expensive ones.

5 or 10 years ago the Russian market was completely different. Now it does not need cheap apples of low quality, and if it does, their price is the same as in Ukraine. The picture for any product in the fruit segment will be absolutely the same. For instance, Uzbekistan, despite the damage from frosts, was forced to sharply reduce the prices for cherries supplied to the Russia this year.

Many countries invest in fruit production and quality, so being nostalgic about past is useless. It is better to invest this time in becoming better yourself and finding new, more promising sales markets.

Why do I believe that the loss of access to the Russian market had a positive impact on the fruit and berry segment of the Ukrainian horticulture business?

I convinced Ukrainian farmers to diversify fruit exports even before there were the first signs of losing access to the Russian market. There were several good reasons for this:

1. Business risk is too high if all products are sold at one sales market.
2. The risk is even higher if the requirements and preferences of this market are very different from all other leading sales markets, as in this case you find yourself completely dependent on the buyer. The example of Moldovan apples is a proof of it.
3. Russia has similar climatic conditions and grows or can grow similar products as Ukraine, which makes Ukrainian fruits not unique and weakens Ukraine’s position in this market.
4. Russia has proven itself to be one of the least reliable and predictable trading partners, as evidenced by numerous, often politically motivated, bans on access to its market for Poland, Moldova, Turkey, Georgia and other countries. This means that the business risk is even higher, if you trade only with the Russia.
5. Russia, despite the widespread misconception, paid less for Ukrainian fruits in comparison with what could be obtained in other sales markets, which we subsequently proved many times, helping to diversify Ukrainian fruit exports.
6. Russian population does not have a high level of income, which means it is much more difficult to sell high-quality products at a premium price there.
7. Since Russia has always lagged far behind the global trends in fruit and vegetable consumption, orientation towards this market reduced Ukraine’s chances of receiving higher export earnings due to its rapid focus on trend niches and segments of the horticulture business.

Therefore, when Ukrainian farmers realized that the Russian market was closed, they began to use the information that we provided as part of projects to diversify Ukrainian food exports. We helped organize a number of trade missions, selecting and preparing participants, and found that Ukrainian fresh berries could well reach even Malaysia and Singapore at a premium price, not to mention apples. Having put in 10% more efforts, Ukrainian farmers managed to receive several times higher prices for quality apples in Southeast Asia, Middle East, Great Britain and other countries than importers from Russia paid.

A sharp decline in demand for low-quality fruits forced Ukrainian farmers to change the varietal composition of orchards, invest in storage and processing of products, and, most importantly, in their marketing and export promotion, which has returned a hundredfold. Now Ukrainian apples are sold more expensive than Polish ones in almost all countries of the world, because we managed to convince in our uniqueness and ability to make apples a finished high-quality product.

One of the main breakthroughs in Ukrainian horticulture was active investment in niche crops and the rapid development of the berry segment. Ukrainian berries are almost exclusively exported to the EU fresh and frozen, and this trend will only accelerate.

The focus on higher quality has also benefited Ukrainian consumers that can now buy high-quality Ukrainian apples at an affordable price even in June or July.

That is why the loss of access to the Russian market led to such a rapid growth in the exports of fruit from Ukraine. When access to the neighboring country’s market is resumed, it will only become an additional bonus for Ukrainian horticulture. While there is no access, it would be good for Ukrainian farmers to demand the authorities to open access to new markets where our products would be unique. I often say that it is very important for Ukraine to gain access to the Vietnamese fruit market and improve the access to the Egyptian fruit market. However, this should be covered in a separate article.

Сообщение Russian ban helped Ukraine increase exports of fruits, berries, and nuts появились сначала на EastFruit.

The Ukrainian team of EastFruit reports that a sharp decline in wholesale prices for blueberries was observed in the wholesale markets of Ukraine on Saturday morning. The barrier of 200 UAH/kg ($ 7.3 US dollars per kg) was overcome at the beginning of night trading, and then buyers, feeling that supply exceeds demand, began to bargain and reduce prices. This happened despite the fact that the wholesale prices for blueberries did not fall below 220 UAH/kg ($ 8.1) on Friday.

Interestingly, by the end of the trade, residual, small batches of blueberries were sold even at 100 UAH/kg ($ 3.7). The price level should not necessarily be judged by it, but rather large volumes of Ukrainian blueberries were sold in the morning of July 10 at prices close to UAH 150-160/kg ($ 5.5-5.9).

Read also: Blueberries will be cheaper than raspberries and other bad news for blueberries in Ukraine

This price level should not horrify growers, as it was exactly the same on the same dates in 2019. However, on July 10 last year blueberries costed 280 UAH/kg average in wholesale. Wholesale prices for blueberries in 2020 did not fall below 150 UAH/kg in Ukraine, but the supply was very limited then due to significant losses from frost. This year, many plantations began to bear fruit, and there was less damage from frost. In addition, the season is greatly delayed, which means that a lot of blueberries will become available on the market almost simultaneously.

According to our forecasts, today blueberry prices may begin to decline rapidly, and they may fall below the level in 2019. The wholesale prices for blueberries fell below 100 UAH/kg in the first week of August 2019.

Consistent exports of fresh Ukrainian blueberries could save the situation, but only a few Ukrainian companies can go for direct exports, and there is no cooperation among the growers in exporting blueberries.

However, in order to export blueberries, Ukraine has to offer them at a significantly lower price. In Poland, the average wholesale price for fresh blueberries is currently around US $ 6.5/kg and is rapidly declining. Besides, Poland is closer to the blueberry sales markets and is a member of the European Union. In Georgia, where the blueberry season is coming to an end, blueberries can be bought at $ 4.8 per kg and even cheaper.

For comparison, wholesale prices for high-quality blueberries in Poland dropped to $ 2.7 per kg in the summer of 2019.

Сообщение The collapse of wholesale prices for blueberries started in Ukraine появились сначала на EastFruit.