Last year, EastFruit reported that the Ukrainian company FruiTech produced and exported the first batch of blueberry nursery plants for a client from Italy.

According to Oleg Bosyy, managing partner of the company, FruiTech LLC offered European quality seedlings at a competitive price. As a result, a truckload of blueberry nursery plants of the Reka and Bluegold varieties was sent to Italy.

In the difficult conditions of Russian military aggression, disruption of production and supply chains, FruiTech continues to work this year, and even supplies its products to the EU countries.

As Sergiy Zmiichuk, co-owner of FruiTech LLC, said on his Facebook page, the company continues to export nursery plants even to the EU.

“We send blueberry nursery plants to sunny Italy. We make our small contribution to support the Ukrainian economy. We will grow new nursery plants for our Ukrainian producers and after the war we will ship them for autumn planting,” Sergiy writes.

Besides, FruiTech offers two-year-old nursery plants of the following varieties, which can now be bought at a very favorable price:

2.000 Bluegold C1.5

13.000 Bluegold C2

3.000 Bluecrop C2

6.000 Nelson C1.5

20.000 Nelson C2

5.000 Elliott C2

For more information please contact:

tel./fax: +38 043 260 30 80

mobile: +38 067 260 30 80
+38 099 260 30 80

e-mail:   office@ft.ua

Сообщение FruitTech Ukraine – Good prices for top quality nursery plants of blueberries for the EU buyers (photo) появились сначала на EastFruit.

More than 1 020 000 seedlings of fruit and ornamental trees, various shrubs, seedlings, flowers were presented to consumers by the participants of the fair – the sale of seedlings in Khujand (Sughd region, Republic of Tajikistan).

This fair has long become traditional, being held twice annually, in late winter – early spring and autumn, according to the EastFruit Tajik team. The fair was attended by cooperatives, seed producers, farm enterprises, specialized institutes of horticulture, viticulture and soil science, banking, consulting, international and public organizations aimed at developing the agricultural sector of the Tajik economy from all 18 cities and districts of the Sughd region.

Sanginboy Sanginov, head of the Ovchi-Gonchi seed-growing cooperative, came to the fair from the Devashtich mountain region.

“Our farm specializes in the production of seed potatoes,” says S. Sanginov. “322 ha of land have been allocated for seed potatoes in our farm, and more than 40 tonnes were harvested from each hectare last year. Currently, the cooperative has more than 150 000 tonnes of seed potatoes of the varieties Aladdin, Picasso, Shukrona, Nurinisso, Kondur, Krasnaya Fantasy and the recently popular Azizi variety. The yield of this variety in our conditions reaches up to 50 tonnes per ha.

Our district is the largest potato-growing region in the republic. Farms from all regions of Tajikistan, where this most important agricultural product is produced, purchase seed material from us.”

Another agricultural region – Matchinsky – is located in the other northern part of the region and, in addition to cotton production, specializes in growing melons and peanuts. The first enterprise for processing, packaging and exporting this product in the republic will come into operation this year there.

“Last year, 2 500 ha were allotted for melons in the region,” says Narzullo Boymatov, head of the Department of Agriculture of the Matchinsky region, Narzullo Boymatov. From these areas, our farmers harvested more than 87 000 tonnes of watermelons, melons, pumpkins, a large part of which was exported. This year, it is planned to allocate 2 600 ha for melons and gourds in the region and get a record 100 000 tonnes.”

Greenhouse facilities are also developing in the region. Currently, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lemons are successfully grown in 128 greenhouses of various types in Matcha.

“At this fair, we present not only fruits produced in our region, but also purchase various seedlings,” continues N. Boimatov. “We are planning to set up a new intensive orchard in the district this spring on an area of ​​5 hectares, and over the next 5 years on 50 hectares.”

Сообщение Tajikistan is getting ready for spring: a large fair of seedlings in Khujand (photo) появились сначала на EastFruit.

Offers of kiwi seedlings, an exotic fruit for Uzbekistan so far, have become increasingly common in Uzbek Telegram channels and Facebook groups on farming. However, it is still unknown whether there are kiwi orchards at commercial levels in the country.

EastFruit experts asked one of the most experienced kiwi growers, Shukhrat Umarov from Kokand, Fergana region, about his practice of kiwi cultivation in Uzbekistan. Mr. Umarov has been growing kiwi for 15 years and willingly shares the peculiarities of its cultivation technologies in Uzbek climate. Shukhrat Umarov grows kiwi in the open field and considers this culture to be winter-hardy enough for the local conditions.

– Please tell us why did you decide to experiment with growing kiwi in Uzbekistan?

– I like to experiment with cultures that are new to our climate and and territory. In 2006, I heard that a growers from Andijan brought a few kiwi seedlings from Turkey. It interested me, but, unfortunately, I didn’t have enough money to buy them. Then I learned that kiwi can be grown from seeds. I bought a Hayward kiwi in a store, took the seeds, planted them in a special soil and began to grow kiwi seedlings. After a year, the seedlings reached about 40 cm and I put them into regular soil outside. In the next 5 years, three out of ten seedlings blossomed, but only one of these three bore fruit.

Observing the differences in flowers and the fruiting process, I realized that kiwi seedlings are of two types – male and female. Accordingly, the male type is pollinating, it blooms, but does not bear fruit, and only the female type bears fruit. They even differ in the color of the flowers.

In the photo: female (left) and male (right) types of kiwi plant

I studied and mastered the methods of grafting kiwi seedlings, the optimal ratio of male and female types, the best time of the year for grafting, the peculiarities of caring for this plant, including watering, fertilizing, pruning, etc.

As a result, in 2018, I got about 50 kg of kiwi harvest from each plant for the first time. By my calculations, about 40 tons of kiwis are harvested per hectare, since there are about 800 plants per hectare.

It must be noted that kiwi harvest will increase with each subsequent year from the moment the plant begins to bear fruit. For example, in the first year of fruiting, 5-10 kg per plant are harvested, in the second year – 20-30 kg, and so on up to 50-60 kg.

– Are there any taste differences between your kiwis and imported ones?

– Of course, there are. Kiwis grown in Uzbekistan differ from imported ones in a sweeter and, in my opinion, richer taste. It is difficult for me to describe the taste – you need to try it.

– What are the features of growing kiwi in Uzbekistan based on your experience?

– For this plant, the following conditions should be provided: first, moist and soft soi, and second, maintaining the required level of humidity. In the hot and dry climate of Uzbekistan, it can be provided with drip irrigation or in another ways, but not abundant. The humidity can be achieved by injecting water using sprinkler systems at certain times of the day. Based on my experience, in the conditions of Uzbekistan such sprinkling or spraying of the kiwi plant should be done from May to September inclusive, every day for several hours a day, and even after sunset in summer.

If air humidity is not sufficient, the fruits are smaller than imported ones. In other words, it affects the size of kiwis.

Therefore, there are better conditions for the cultivation of kiwi in Uzbek regions and micro-zones with higher humidity, as well as the air temperature lower than the national average.

In terms of care, the kiwi plant is not very pretentious. Kiwi is resistant to diseases and does not require special protection measures against diseases or pests. Therefore, much less agrotechnical work is needed compared to other crops. As for fertilizers, I can say that the use of, for instance, vermicompost gives very good results.

It is important to know and observe the optimal time for grafting kiwi seedlings in Uzbekistan, to master the methods and techniques of pruning. The yield of kiwi directly is directly dependente. For example, the branches that bore fruit this year will not bear fruit next year, so they need to be pruned.

Hayward kiwi harvest fully ripens in the first ten days of November, but for long-term storage and transportation, you need to start harvesting from about October 25th.

– What about frost resistance and the effect of frost on the crop, which occurs every few years?

– The seedlings I have grown during 15 years have withstood all the winters and colds. In 2008, there was a very cold winter in Uzbekistan. My seedlings were only two years old then, and I thought it was the time my experiments with kiwi ended. To my surprise, in spring I saw that the seedlings survived.

The frosts in late February and mid-March 2021 certainly affected the kiwi harvest. This year, the yield dropped to 25-30 kg per plant – almost 2 times lower than usual. But I still got kiwi harvest from every female plant.

– Do you plan to create industrial kiwi orchard in Uzbekistan?

– I am often asked this question, but I am mainly focused on other crops, and I do not have the land for such orchards. Growing kiwi is my hobby, caused by the desire to cultivate this plant in the conditions of Uzbekistan and see how it turns out.

As a commercial component of my hobby, I established a small business for growing and selling kiwi seedlings, accompanying and advising on its cultivation.

– How do you assess the interest of farmers in kiwi seedlings? Have there been any large orders?

– I did not have large orders for kiwi seedlings. The volume of orders is from a few to twenty seedlings, they are bought mainly for planting in subsidiary or personal plots. Accordingly, this kiwi harvest goes for personal consumption and almost does not enter the market.

According to EastFruit analysts, from 2017 to 2019, the volume of kiwi imports to Uzbekistan increased from 1.2 thousand tons to a record 4.1 thousand tons per year, and in 2020 decreased to 2.1 thousand tons. More than half was supplied from Iran, and the rest from Pakistan and Turkey. Small volumes of kiwi – up to 70 tons per year, are also imported from Chile, China and Russia (re-export). In 2021, Argentina joined the list of kiwi suppliers.

Currently, the average retail price for kiwi in supermarkets in Uzbekistan is 55,000 UZS/kg ($5.1/kg).

Obviously, the cost of growing kiwis in Uzbekistan will be lower than in the largest countries supplying them to the global market due to lower labor costs. Providing high humidity in the farm with sprinklers will also help protect kiwi from frost if necessary, since the sprinklers are the most effective protection system today when the temperature drops below zero in spring.

Given high prices in the domestic market, the commercial cultivation of kiwi in Uzbekistan can be profitable, EastFruit experts conclude. Moreover, thanks to the possibility to harvest kiwis riper, they can be sold more expensive than imported ones, as they will be more delicious. And if the locals try really tasty kiwi and tell their friends, the consumption of these fruits in the country can rise sharply, creating new opportunities for investment in production. Then exports can be considered. For instance, in neighboring Tajikistan, the popularity of kiwi is growing rapidly and it has already become a must-have of the New Year’s table.

Сообщение Growing kiwi in Uzbekistan – grower’s experience 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.

In 2018, Beso Tevdoradze and his Georgian partners, with the assistance of the state program “Plant the Future”, planted 47 hectares of pistachios in the Taribana Valley, Dedoplistskaro municipality, Eastern Georgia. A third of the total area has already been grafted with pistachio varieties imported from Iran.

“Grafting takes place in summer, preferably from mid-June to the first week of August. The first commercial crop appears in 5-6 years. This is a traditional approach, but there is also a modern practice when the grafting takes place in a nursery. Then, with proper care, the first commercial crop can be harvested 1-2 years earlier. In our case, the grafting takes place in the orchard, although we have a certified nursery, and we are going to offer customers grafted seedlings on American hybrid rootstocks next year,” Beso explains in a conversation with EastFruit.

The pandemic has prevented growers from importing planting material from Iran due to transportation restrictions. This year this problem has already been overcome, and we will not have to bring seed stock.

“At this stage, the experiment is quite successful, because the orchard gave us the first crop this year, which we plan to harvest by the end of September. At this time, the pistachio size will be 20-22, which is an excellent result for such young trees. Next year we expect to get several tons of the so-called long pistachios, and after the orchard matures, one hectare should give us 5 tons of raw pistachios. We plan to sell the future harvest on site” Beso Tevdoradze commented.

Taribana 2016 is one of the first certified pistachio nurseries in Georgia, which provides commercial orchards with seedlings.

“With our help, pistachios have already been planted on about 160 hectares in the Dedoplistskaro region, which is one of the best places to grow this crop. South Kakheti and Kartli are characterized by a dry climate and lack of precipitation, therefore pistachios are well pollinated here, and fungal diseases are not so common. Along with the sale of seedlings, our nursery provides agronomic support.”

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, up to 300 hectares of pistachio orchards have been planted in Georgia within the framework of the “Plant the Future” program. The investments amount to 3.7 million GEL ($1.18 million), the co-financing of the Rural Development Agency is more than 1.3 million GEL ($0.41 million), while the preferential agricultural loans exceed 2.9 million GEL ($0.93 million).

Сообщение First harvest of pistachios from a commercial orchard is expected in Eastern Georgia появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit analysts draw attention to the threat of a new “raspberry boom” in the 2022 season. Representatives of berry nurseries confirm a sharp increase in demand for raspberry seedlings this year, given record high prices for raspberries on the fresh market, as well as for those for freezing and exports.

Unfortunately, the first raspberry boom of 2017-2018 is fading from the memory of many Ukrainian entrepreneurs. This means that the sad scenario for many is quite likely to repeat. Therefore, we decided to recall its developments, as well as explain what went wrong then, and why “Raspberry Boom 2” is quite possible.

After the ban on the exports of fruits and vegetables from Ukraine to Russia, many entrepreneurs started looking for investment opportunities in high value-added products for exports. At this time, Ukraine has already successfully exported frozen raspberries, although in relatively small volumes – about 3-5 thousand tons per year. Wholesale prices for high-quality raspberries in 2015 reached 40-45 UAH/kg ($ 1.9-2.2/kg), and the same was paid even for high-quality raspberries for freezing.

At the same time, the establishment of a raspberry plantation with certified planting material, including the costs of drip irrigation and other technologies, amounted to about 300-350 thousand UAH. Accordingly, upon reaching a yield of 10 tons per hectare, which is quite real for an intensive project, the investment paid off in one year. The raspberry orchard was designed, as a rule, for about 7 years of production.

Since 2011, the APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits project has been successfully holding an international conference “Berries of Ukraine: Freezing and Fresh Market”, which always attracts crowds. This helps to promote ​​growing berries and freezing them for exports. One of the largest agricultural conferences in the country “Million per hectare” was held at the beginning of 2016, where numerous ideas of highly profitable businesses on small farms were discussed. Notably, it was investments in raspberries cultivation that aroused the greatest interest among the participants.

During the conference, the Lviv Regional State Administration agreed to cooperate with representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in promoting the raspberries cultivation for freezing and fresh market in the region. The regional budget allocated funds to support such initiatives, in addition to the funds to be obtained from the state budget.

The project of the FAO Investment Centre and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), dedicated to supporting cooperation in agribusiness, helped the administration develop a program to support and promote the berry business in the region and hold a series of seminars on the cultivation and processing of raspberries. The events took place not only in Lviv, but also in other regions of the country, and were keenly covered in media.

Most of the event participants and media representatives talked about the potential profitability and payback of raspberry projects, while FAO and EBRD representatives drew attention primarily to the necessity of a clear understanding of how and where to sell raspberries for successful projects. Moreover, FAO and EBRD warned of a shortage of freezing capacity in the country, which could lead to a collapse in prices amid increased production, if producers did not cooperate to create their own processing and production of high-quality frozen raspberries.

At one of the seminars with about 100 people present, FAO economist Andriy Yarmak asked: “Raise your hand if you grow raspberries”. There was silence in the hall – only two raised their hands. However, it became obvious during the presentations that the majority had either already planted raspberries, or were establishing plantations, but did not want to reveal this to other participants. And this was a vivid representation of growers not being ready to cooperate and work together, which the organizers called the main threat to business.

Another problem is saving on seedlings. Many buy the so-called raspberry seedlings at 1 UAH/piece ($0.05/piece), while for high-quality certified seedlings you need to pay about 15 UAH/piece ($ 0.7). Naturally, most of the “seedlings” at 1 UAH/piece either perish or do not provide even the minimum productivity necessary for economically viable production. Raspberries grown from such planting material are not high-quality – and quality is the main prerequisite for getting a high price.

At the same time, freezing capacities were growing in Ukraine. However, the overwhelming majority of these projects were self-built and could not produce quality products. The same is with plantations from seedlings at 1 UAH/piece. Therefore, even if good-quality raspberries get here, which is unlikely, low-quality products are obtained.

No wonder that wholesale prices for raspberries fell sharply in 2017. Fresh raspberries were sold everywhere, and the retail price did not exceed 25-30 UAH/kg – even in retail raspberries were sold at less than $ 1/kg! For the first time, raspberries appeared in supermarket chains!

The freezing enterprises were also inundated with offers. They reduced prices, as producers did not have refrigeration and freezing and had nowhere to go – they had to sell at the offered price. The price reached 15-20 UAH/kg – only $ 0.55-0.70/kg.

For those who saved on seedlings, the yield of raspberries usually does not exceed 2-3 tons per hectare. Therefore, harvesting such raspberries costs more than 10 UAH/kg, which means the production becomes close to unprofitable. This was just the beginning of what we call “Raspberry Boom 1”.

By the way, many believe that this was a coincidence, and the demand for raspberry seedlings remained high. Raspberry orchards were actively further planted, hoping that the price would rise the next year.

Ukraine sharply increased the supply of frozen raspberries to the EU market at incredibly low prices that sometimes dropped to $ 1.5. The quality of these raspberries was so poor that the demand was respectively low, despite the attractive price. However, the price was set, and raspberry importers offered a similar price for berries from Serbia and Poland. But these countries were used to sell frozen raspberries at no less than $ 2.6-3.0/kg. By the way, the last batches of frozen Ukrainian raspberries of the 2017 harvest were sold for export at $ 1/kg.

Naturally, producers entered the new season of 2018 with large stocks of frozen raspberries and low prices. Despite the fact that the first growers had already stopped the production, there were even more raspberries planted. Therefore, the supply of raspberries in Ukraine remained high and even increased.

After another increase in the supply of raspberries, the purchase prices of frozen ones often dropped to 10 UAH/kg (less than the cost of harvesting), although for high-quality raspberries they paid more. There were cases when low-quality raspberries for freezing were bought even at 6-8 UAH/kg ($ 0.22-30)! And this was the peak of the “Raspberry Boom 1”.

Freezing enterprises were afraid to pay more for raspberries, bearing in mind the difficulties with exports and low global prices. They assumed that the global market might not recover amid high supply. Accordingly, by the beginning of August 2018, Ukrainian growers had no doubts that growing raspberries is completely unprofitable.

By the way, in 2018, prices for remontant varieties of raspberries, began to grow unexpectedly and even reached 40 UAH/kg, although only when sold on the fresh market. Freezing enterprises raised prices, but not more than 20-25 UAH/kg. By this time, many growers had already given up their raspberry plantations.

The global market for frozen raspberries was in a fever at that time. Growers in Serbia, as well as in Bosnia and Herzegovina, were protesting and demanding that governments solve the problem of low raspberry prices. There was also a decline in raspberry production under pressure of low prices in Poland. It was at this time that many Ukrainian entrepreneurs paid attention to blueberries and honeysuckle, which they considered to be more profitable.

In seasons 2016/17 and 2017/18, Ukraine exported about 15 thousand tons of frozen raspberries. It made the country one of the five largest net exporters of raspberries in the world. In terms of price Ukraine was a champion – Ukrainian raspberries were the cheapest. It is hardly worth being proud of this achievement – the residual batches of Ukrainian frozen raspberries at the end of the season were often sold at incredible prices, about $ 1/kg. For comparison, Serbia and Poland exported about 100 thousand tons of frozen raspberries and suffered greatly from low global prices that collapsed because of Ukraine, despite its small raspberry volumes.

According to analysts of the APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits, Ukraine could have exported even 25 thousand tons of frozen raspberries then. However, the lack of freezing capacities made this impossible. These thousands of tons of raspberries were not harvested, lost, distributed free of charge, used for the production of alcohol, homemade jam, etc. Of course, the consumption of fresh raspberries has grown sharply in Ukraine then.

According to Andriy Yarmak, these two difficult seasons have laid a good foundation for the further development of the raspberry market in the world. “Due to low global prices, frozen raspberries are becoming a good raw material for confectionery, bakery, dairy and other food industries. Raspberry smoothies became popular. Smoothies and healthy eating are in trend, and cheap raspberries come in handy here. The percentage of raspberries in frozen fruit and berry mixes is also growing quite sharply. Food producers promote raspberries as a very tasty and healthy product. In other words, the price cut has allowed millions of consumers in countries not producing raspberries to try them in other products. Many people liked them. Thus, the consumption of raspberries, including fresh, increased globally,”- Andriy Yarmak explains.

Of course, we can name another positive outcome of the “Raspberry Boom 1” in Ukraine – a sharp increase in investments in berry freezing capacities. After all, if raspberries are cheap, it is rational to make money not on growing, but on processing cheap raw material! And now, besides low or average-quality projects, modern enterprises for freezing berries, fruits and vegetables have begun to be created in Ukraine. By the way, it was raspberries that made Ukraine an exporter of frozen wild-growing mushrooms, but that’s a different story. In the meantime, we will return to raspberries and jump into 2021.

Raspberry prices in 2021 rose to an incredible 75-90 UAH/kg! Growers who did not give up growing raspberries sold them at almost $ 3/kg even for freezing – more than twice as much as before the start of “Raspberry Boom 1”! Moreover, raspberry prices sometimes even exceeded blueberry prices that were considered the highest for many years in a row.

Therefore, no wonder that many could not resist the temptation to grow raspberries again in 2021. What if prices don’t collapse?

We have to disappoint you, but the prices for raspberries, at least for those for freezing, will surely go down, as producers have not studied the reasons for such a dynamic rise in prices. They have risen because the harvest has sharply declined in several key raspberry producing countries due to unfavorable weather this year. Also, the low prices of “Raspberry Boom 1” knocked out of this business many inefficient participants in different countries, and the rising cost of labor and its shortage had an impact. Furthermore, the growth in global consumption of raspberries and the growth of freezing capacities in Ukraine played a role.

In the 2020/21 season Ukraine exported a record volume of raspberries – more than 20 thousand tons. This confirms the availability of sufficient freezing capacity, because exports increased given lower production volumes. Indeed, raspberries in Ukraine suffered from frosts in 2020, and the growing areas were lower than in 2017-2018.

What can you do to avoid another bankruptcy due to a very likely decline in raspberry prices in 2022?

We will repeat what we said before the start of “Raspberry Boom 1”, warning about its consequences. It goes without saying that you should not buy cheap seedlings of shady origin. It seems obvious, although questions on forums cast doubt on our belief. If we talk about serious investments, we need to, first of all, clearly understand what quality raspberries will be grown and how they will be sold.

For a fresh market, you need the right varieties, appropriate growing technology, which is fundamentally different from the technology of growing raspberries for processing, cooling capacity, packaging lines and materials, contracts with supermarket chains and/or other reliable buyers.

For processing, you need to understand that prices can only be partially controlled, even if you have your own freezing capacities. Therefore, it is also important to grow, first of all, high-quality raspberries and work with a reliable processor with good sales in export markets. Prices for high-quality raspberries will always allow to, at least, recoup the costs of production. In addition, after raspberry prices collapse the most inefficient producers leave the market, as a rule, and the prices rise next season.

Ukrainian growers should also understand that even large berry freezing enterprises in Ukraine are small compared to Polish or Serbian ones. That is why Ukrainian exporters cannot get a higher price, and are often forced to sell not directly, but through Polish processors, leaving them a significant part of the margin. We wrote about this in the article “How much money does Ukraine give to Poland when exporting berries”.

Accordingly, without cooperation and market consolidation, Ukrainian growers will continue to subsidize berry processors from Poland and other countries, leaving them a part of their profits.

What will be the raspberry prices in 2022? We do not engage in forecast them. Our colleagues from APK-Inform: vegetables and fruits have been doing this successfully for many years. However, we have seen business plans for new raspberry growing projects with very high prices. This suggests that Ukraine’s “Raspberry Boom 2” is almost the reality.

Сообщение A second raspberry boom in Ukraine? появились сначала на EastFruit.

Table grapes are the second most popular fruit in the world in terms of global trade after bananas, and global table grape trade continues to grow dynamically, by an average of 3.6% or $ 336 million each year.

However, this success story is not applicable to Uzbekistan, one of the largest producers and exporters of table grapes in the world. After all, while all the other countries are increasing exports, Uzbekistan reduces them. Moreover, not only the volumes of export of fresh table grapes, but even those of dried grapes (raisins) are decreasing.

What are the reasons? Why is Uzbekistan losing markets for one of the most important traditional export item in the fruit and vegetable segment?

To answer this question, EastFruit experts compared industry development trends in leading exporting countries with what is happening in Uzbekistan.

To begin with, we conducted a survey of leading experts in the table grapes production industry in Uzbekistan in order to determine the most popular table grapes varieties and trends. And while it was clear even before the survey that the industry was based on traditional, outdated varieties, it was surprising to learn that there was absolutely no attempt to make a change.

When communicating with respondents, there was little interest in foreign varieties, not to mention the interest in the trends in the global market. The industry’s focus has been on improving local varieties. It would seem that there is nothing wrong with Uzbekistan’s excellent local varieties that local consumers like. After all, this reduces dependence on foreign varieties and dramatically reduces the cost of investment in planting vineyards.

The only problem is that very few people, even experts in the grape industry of Uzbekistan, understand that consumers are changing. The younger generation even in the traditional market for table grapes in Uzbekistan, such as Russia, prefers completely different grape varieties that Uzbekistan does not produce. Regarding the development of the industry and increasing the export of table grapes, we need to go beyond exports to Russia, but how can we do this with varieties that are unknown to consumers in the world?

Let’s look at the most popular table grape varieties grown in Uzbekistan in terms of the number of references by our respondents.

As you can see, the most popular varieties are the seedless varieties Kishmish Kora Black and Khusaine White, which were mentioned by all respondents without exception as the most common in the country. However, in fact, varieties number 2 (Lady’s finger or Kelin barmoқ, which literally means “Bride ‘s fingers”) and number 3 (Ketmonsopy) in our rating are also varieties or clones of Husayne variety.

Husayne is the most widespread variety, cultivated for a long time in Uzbekistan. It is still popular because it is easy to manage, and it can be stored long. For the same reason, in Uzbekistan, there are quite a lot of areas of the old Toifi variety, which is going out of fashion, as it is sold at the lowest price, according to winegrowers.

Kishmish Bark (black) is widespread because this seedless variety is universal: there is always a good demand for it in the fresh market, both in the domestic and export markets, and black raisins are made from it, which are also well sold in the domestic and external markets.

According to our estimates, about 71% of table grape varieties are with seeds. There are only a few seedless varieties of table grapes in Uzbekistan.

The rating of table grape varieties made by EastFruit based on experts’ survey is presented below: the varieties with expanding area of cultivation are shown on the left and those with decreasing area of cultivation are on the right.

It is interesting that the areas cultivated with “Lady’s finger”, Khusayne variety, which has a more elongated shape and a more delicate skin, grow the fastest in Uzbekistan – this is a seeded variety. But the classic Husayne took the first place in terms of the rate of area reduction.

The seedless variety Sogdiana (Pobeda, Kishmish black), bred in Uzbekistan, took a second place. It is a notable variety – it is larger than Kishmish Kora Black (which is third in terms of expansion rates). In addition, it is suitable for both fresh market and raisins. Raisins from it are also large, thus they are sold at a high price. This reduces the risk of non-sale of products, as table grapes can be dried if they cannot be sold.

The third place was taken by the table grapes variety Mercedes with seeds. It is believed to be a traditional selection grape, bred in Tajikistan, therefore it is usually called “Tajikistan“. However, in Uzbekistan they prefer to call it “Mercedes”. The Mercedes variety is gaining popularity because it is large. In addition, it recently started to be used for making seedless raisins. Since expensive large raisins are made from it, the labor required to squeeze the seeds seems to be worth it.

The areas of Rizamat F1, variety of pink table grapes with seeds, are expanding almost as quickly. According to farmers, it is good for the fresh market, because the price is high and it is sold well from August to October. Its disadvantage is that it is not suitable for storage, i.e. it is not yet possible to sell it in winter.

At the same time, on the US and Chilean markets, all the leading varieties are seedless: Scarlet Royal, Autumn King, Flame Seedless, Pristine, etc. By the way, seed varieties are also grown there, but their prices are much lower, therefore, producers of all table grape exporting countries are getting rid of varieties with seeds. Even those seedless varieties that were mentioned by some of the respondents in Uzbekistan as promising, which in some cases are imported and grown without licenses in Uzbekistan, such as Thomson Sidles, are now also becoming not popular.

There is a growing interest in large seedless table grapes in the world, and there are no such varieties in Uzbekistan. In addition, bunches of local varieties weigh at least 1 kg, while smaller bunches of 0.3 – 0.5 kg, more convenient for consumers, are popular on the global market. That is, the bunches of Uzbek grapes are too large for the global market. Although some producers say that small bunches can also be obtained from local grape varieties through appropriate care and treatment of bushes during ripening but no one is working on it.

At the same time, almost all of our respondents agreed that seedless varieties will expand in the future, because demand for them will grow. One of the farmers even noted that he did not see a single table grape variety with seeds during 10 days in India.

Why does Uzbekistan remain far from global trends and is in no hurry to follow them? The most common explanation is that the official imports of foreign grape nursery plants is almost impossible, that there are lengthy plant quarantine procedures (about six months), which so far no one wants to deal with, and there is a serious risk of bringing various grape diseases from abroad, that can quickly spread throughout the country and be a threat to the entire viticulture sector.

In addition, the knowledge vacuum about global market trends is also an important point. Most of the publications available to producers, as well as the vast majority of Uzbek scientists and consultants are all about growing traditional varieties. And if someone is interested in other varieties, there is neither opportunities to import them, nor information on how to grow them in local conditions, not to mention the higher cost of nursery plants, which means that the risk of failure is too high.

The state allocates land for farmers to engage in viticulture, but since all recommendations relate to local Uzbek varieties, only these varieties are planted.

Will Uzbek exporters be able to convince the whole world to consume Bride’s Fingers, Mercedes and other varieties, or will they eventually have to start producing more modern varieties popular in other countries of the world? Or will Uzbekistan focus on the domestic market and the production of dried grapes, since it is easier to export dried grapes than fresh ones?

We cannot answer these, but we believe that every year it will be more and more difficult for Uzbekistan to export fresh table grapes to the markets of Russia and Kazakhstan without renewing grape varieties and approaches to their cultivation, processing and storage

According to Andriy Yarmak, Economist of the Investment Centre of the UN Food Organization (FAO), the next generation of consumers will value not only taste and convenience, but also the sustainability of the entire system of growing and supplying table grapes. “The next generation of consumers, who will become more and more influential in the coming years, will prefer large seedless grapes, organically grown, preserved, packaged and delivered in an environmentally friendly way in ecological biodegradable packaging, which they will order online using only a voice assistant. I know that this sounds too futuristic, especially for Uzbekistan, but it is better to be ready for this, because vineyards are a business for years to come. No one would have thought that online delivery of vegetables and fruits would develop so rapidly in Uzbekistan, but now it is real!”, – Andriy Yarmak said.

It may well turn out that table grape varieties popular in other countries, will grow even more delicious in Uzbekistan, given many sunny days and favorable weather in the country. Also, according to EastFruit, Uzbekistan does not fully use its geographical advantages – early grapes of advanced varieties in the southern regions can be produced earlier than in other countries and exported at a very high price. To do this, you can experiment with growing grapes indoors. In addition, many popular varieties in the world can be stored till spring, and storage technologies have long been developed. This would make it possible not only to reverse the downward trend in the export of Uzbek grapes, but also to saturate the country’s domestic market with affordable and healthy products all year round. Now, oddly enough, retail prices for vegetables and fruits, and even table grapes in Uzbekistan, are higher than in other countries of the region.

Accordingly, joint efforts of both the government and representatives of the sector are needed for further development of viticulture in Uzbekistan. Moreover, changes in approaches have been long- overdue and these changes have to start with an analysis of the table grape market.

Сообщение Ranking of leading table grapes varieties in Uzbekistan gives no hope for export expansion появились сначала на EastFruit.

Italy is known as an exporter of the highest quality fruit and berry nursery plants. According to EastFruit analysts, Italy ranks second in the world in terms of fruit and berry nursery plants exports, after the Netherlands.

Therefore, the first historical export shipment of blueberry plants to Italy from a Ukrainian nursery sounds even more exciting. After all, Ukraine itself is one of the twenty largest importers of Italian nursery plants of fruit and berry crops.

Ukrainian company FruiTech, which produced and exported the first batch of blueberry nursery plants to its client in Italy explained to EastFruit that it was not very easy to convince an Italian buyer to buy nursery plants from Ukraine. The recommendations of a Ukrainian fresh berry exporter, who knew and the Italian buyer and was developed a trust with them, played an important role here.

However, the quality of the Ukraine’s nursery plants and their price turned out to be even more convincing in comparison with competitors from the European Union. “We could offer a product of an EU-quality and a competitive price, which is the main reason the buyer chose us. As a result, we exported to Italy a truckload of blueberry nursery plants of the Reka and Bluegold varieties, which should be enough to plant 9-10 hectares of blueberries,” Oleg Bosyy, Managing Partner of FruiTech LLC, explains.

He also notes that atfer the first export shipment, several more potential Italian customers became interested in purchasing blueberry plants from the Ukrainian nursery. Therefore, it is possible that there will be more shipments to Italy soon.

Prior to that, blueberry plants from Ukrainian nurseries were exported mainly to Georgia and Armenia, and in 2020 a small batch of nursery plants was delivered even to Poland. This year, FruiTech expanded the exports market of blueberry nursery plants to include Kazakhstan and Moldova. They are also now considering requests from potential buyers of high-quality berry planting material from several Central Asian countries, where interest in blueberry cultivation has grown significantly recently.

As EastFruit notes, FruiTech is known among Ukrainian and Eastern European berry producers for its transparency in doing business and for an uncompromising fight against violations of intellectual property rights for berry varieties.

FruiTech LLC itself considers the management of intellectual property rights of plant varieties to be its main activity. “The introduction, production testing, state registration and licensing of new, promising varieties of fruit and berry crops in cooperation with leading scientific institutions and breeding centers from around the world is the basis for the activity of FruiTech LLC,” the company’s website says.

Moreover, FruiTech, in cooperation with the best Ukrainian and foreign producers of planting material, offers high-quality certified nursery plants of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and tall blueberries for commercial producers of berry crops and is an important source of high-quality inputs for professional nurseries. The company also provides full technological support and consulting support for clients with the involvement of the best Ukrainian and foreign specialists. Such support includes the development of technological maps, planning of the protection system, recommendations for plant fertilization and field visits during the organization of important technological operations.

Сообщение Ukraine is now exporting blueberry nursery plants to Italy! появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit has been noting an increasing interest in blueberries in Uzbekistan for several years now. Initially, they became popular among wealthy people. The reason is that Uzbekistan is a country with a low level of income and blueberries were sold there at least at $ 30 per kg even during the production season.

However, the high price of berries attracted those who considered getting a profit out of this by producing blueberries in Uzbekistan. Interest in the production of blueberries in Uzbekistan has increased sharply after a series of our publications and data presented during online trainings on the potential and prospects of blueberry production in Central Asian countries.

Nevertheless, only a few cases of blueberry production in Uzbekistan are known now. In addition, most of the producers are very small farmers. In other words, there is practically no commercial blueberry production in Uzbekistan, and those who do grow blueberries refuse to share their experience.

Imported blueberries are still sold in supermarkets in Uzbekistan at a very high price – $ 5.2 per pack of 125 grams, which means almost $ 42 per kg of blueberries from Mexico. Given the climate of Uzbekistan, the southern regions of the country could already harvest the first early varieties of blueberries, if they were grown there. However, there are no Uzbek blueberries on the market so far.

The only known Uzbek blueberry producer is Nurli Oshom Tongi LLC. The company grows blueberries in the Yukorichirchik district of the Tashkent region. According to a short report by the kun.uz, this project was launched together with investors from Albania in 2018. As of September 2020, blueberries grown there were sold on the domestic market, but it was not reported where, how and in what volumes. The photographs show that blueberries are grown in containers and the plot appears to be relatively small.

The low demand for blueberry seedlings also indicates the almost complete lack of interest in the blueberries production on a commercial scale on the part of potential producers in Uzbekistan. According to Sergey Tsymbalov, representative of the OSC Company, blueberry seedlings are demanded only by small producersd: “Customers call us (by advertisement on the Internet) and want to buy some seedlings for their households. However, we do not work with such customers. We have nurseries in Italy and Turkey, where we produce for the intensive farming only. There have been no orders for large batches of blueberry seedlings from Uzbekistan yet”. Other participants in the market for seedlings of Uzbekistan also say that there are practically no large orders for blueberry seedlings.

At the same time, Uzbek agribusinesses often place large requests for blueberry seedlings on the biggest trading platform for fruit and vegetable technologies, EF Technologies, where seedlings of blueberries and other fruits and berries are sold. Large Uzbek investors also contacted EastFruit , planning to establish blueberry orchards in the country on a commercial scale. Therefore, companies are becoming more active in this segment now, although they do not disclose such information.

It only remains to add that the growth of interest in blueberries production in Uzbekistan is inevitable. In addition to the fact that it is the most profitable berry in the world now, the demand for which is rapidly increasing, it is also perfect for Uzbekistan. Its high wholesale price completely neutralizes the main disadvantage of Uzbekistan – high transport costs due to its remoteness from the main sales markets. Besides, unlike other berries, blueberries are good for long-term transportation and can even be stored in modern fruit storage facilities for up to three months. Also, a huge advantage of Uzbekistan is the low cost of labor, which is needed to harvest berries. In addition, Uzbekistan can start harvesting berries earlier than most other countries in the Northern Hemisphere, which provides additional advantages.

Unfortunately, we cannot yet estimate the exact Uzbek blueberry production made by small farmers, but we can expect a significant increase in investments in new blueberry plantations in the coming years.

Сообщение Blueberries – are there any commercial berry producers in Uzbekistan? появились сначала на EastFruit.

Uzbekistan has set a goal to increase income from each hectare of land in the country to $5,000. It is planned to achieve this goal during 2021 through rational placement and scientifically-based cultivation of agricultural crops using modern IT technologies, reports Kapital.uz.

Farmers are offered to plant crops based on the water supply taking into account the specifics of each region and the historically established methods of farming. For example, in some farms of the Mirzaabad region, the cotton yield was 12 centners per hectare. However, after studying the specialization of local mahallas, the profitability of growing and processing pomegranates instead was revealed.

In the Farish and Ellikkala regions, wine grapes can be grown. In the Bulakbashi region, there is an opportunity to receive a good income from garlic and to grow 1,000 tons of export-oriented grapes per year through the allocation of concessional loans to households.

According to the President of Uzbekistan, starting March 1st of this year, the term of loans allocated under family business programs for orchards, vineyards, and greenhouses will be increased from 3 to 7 years and the grace period from 1 to 3 years. Uzbekistan also plans to put into circulation rainfed and pasture lands to create permanent and seasonal jobs.

Read also: Potatoes of Uzbekistan – what caused the high prices and can they be reduced in the future?

The government states it is necessary to provide agricultural enterprises with 702,000 tons of seeds and 105 million seedlings. However, the lack of a system for this creates difficulties for both the population and exporters. The quality of the varieties and the maturation period of the products do not allow them to occupy a leading position in foreign markets.

In this regard, the Mirzaev Scientific Research Institute of Horticulture, Viticulture and Winemaking of the National Center for Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation and its research and experimental stations will organize the procurement of high-yielding export-oriented fruit and grape seedlings on the basis of public-private partnerships. In accordance with soil and climatic conditions, each region’s intensive nurseries will be created on an area of ​​at least 100 hectares. When buying seeds and seedlings from local seed farms, up to 20% of their value will be compensated by the state.

In addition, a procedure will be introduced to reimburse part of the cost of building lemon greenhouses using energy from alternative sources.

This year, 24 trillion soums are allocated to the Agriculture Fund for the stable provision of the agricultural sector with financial resources. For the first time, 300 billion soums are to be allocated for the issuance of loans for growing vegetables at the base rate of the Central Bank.

This year, special attention will be paid to the development of science and information technologies in the agricultural sector. The post of Deputy Minister of Agriculture for the Development of Information Technologies is being introduced and a separate structure is being created. This structure was instructed to create by the end of the year an information system that will monitor 3 million hectares of irrigated land, with a database on soil composition and crops. For these purposes, $10 million of funds from international financial institutions will be allocated.

Сообщение Development of IT technologies a priority for the agricultural sector in Uzbekistan появились сначала на EastFruit.