Since the beginning of February, wholesale prices for imported blueberries have been increasing on the Polish market, EastFruit project analysts report with reference to the fresh-market website. In total, imported blueberries in Poland have risen in price by 34% over the year, and current blueberry prices are in the range of 36.00-58.00 PLN/kg ($8.98-14.46/kg), depending on quality, packaging and country of origin.

It is worth noting that since the blueberry harvest in Spain has been going on for several weeks now, the increase in the supply of blueberries should lead to a fall in prices, not an increase. Unfortunately, the harvesting is still at a very early stage, as no more than 8-9% of the planned blueberries were harvested by the end of the 10th week in Spain.

In the 9th week (the latest data by Cen Junta de Andalusia), blueberry prices in Spain increased from $6.03/kg to $6.17/kg. According to market operators, this increase in blueberry prices in Spain is a consequence of high production and logistics costs, as well as problems with the current harvest due to adverse weather conditions. At the same time, there is a tendency to reduce selling prices for blueberries every year. Thus, prices for blueberries in Spain decreased from $7.12/kg last year to the aforementioned $6.17/kg.

Сообщение Prices for imported blueberries in Poland have increased instead of falling появились сначала на EastFruit.

After a series of seminars, trainings and publications by EastFruit about excellent opportunities for profitable blueberry cultivation in Uzbekistan, interest of investors in it has grown rapidly.

First of all, large Uzbek companies began to contact us with a request to help find blueberry seedlings and information on cultivation technologies in Uzbek climate. It was about projects on 5 to 10 hectares, with the possibility of expansion, since investors understood that growing a new crop in Uzbekistan is quite risky.

Foreign investors are now also showing interest in growing blueberries in the country. In particular, the Dunyo publication reports on the potential interest of the Spanish company Ideal Fruits in the creation of blueberry plantations in Uzbekistan. The company has experience in growing blueberries in Spain and Morocco – similar, though not the same climatic conditions.

Representatives of the Embassy of Uzbekistan visited the blueberry plantations of Ideal Fruits, a company for the production and sale of berries in the Spanish regions of Segovia and Asturias, and had online negotiations between the company’s management and Uzbek entrepreneurs working in this area, Dunyo reported.

During the negotiations, the CEO of Ideal Fruits David Muñoz Pascual spoke in detail about the rapid development of the global market for berries, in particular blueberries, and the emerging need to grow them in various regions to ensure year-round supplies to the market. According to David Muñoz Pascual, the blueberry harvest in Uzbekistan will be able to cover the unsecured demand for berries in early summer (June-July), given the climate of the region. Thus, blueberries can be harvested in the republic in a very favorable export period.

EastFruit experts believe that, due to the climatic conditions of Uzbekistan, early blueberry varieties from the southern regions can be supplied to the market much earlier, and blueberries in the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan can be harvested from May to July. Therefore, the season for harvesting and selling berries in the country can be quite long, which makes its production in the country especially attractive.

The head of the Spanish company noted that the potential for growing blueberries, like other types of berries, remains quite high in the region and, if properly organized, it will pay off fast enough. The Spanish side expressed its readiness to participate in the implementation of the joint project by selecting a suitable blueberry variety and sharing the accumulated experience in its growing, followed by a guaranteed purchase of the entire harvest.

In turn, the representative of Nurli Oshom Tongi LLC, Zhamshid Khodzhaev, informed the foreign side about the experience in implementing a pilot project to create a blueberry plantation in the Tashkent region. It was noted that the Uzbek side is interested in establishing cooperation with the Spanish company, implementing a joint project at one of the company’s farms in the Tashkent, Jizzakh, Kashkadarya and Namangan regions was suggested.

As a result of the negotiations, the parties agreed to send a trial batch of blueberries to Uzbekistan to study the local market’s demand, as well as prepare information on the climatic calendar in the regions proposed for the project.

According to EastFruit, there is no need to send trial batches of blueberries to study the needs of the Uzbek market. After all, blueberries have long been actively sold in Uzbekistan in supermarket chains. More than two years ago, we wrote that blueberries have become popular among wealthy people in Uzbekistan as a kind of symbol of prosperity, and they are often served even at weddings. Therefore, the import of blueberries into the country is growing, and even Ukraine began to export blueberries to Uzbekistan in 2021.

We can conclude that the implementation of an investment project for blueberry cultivation by a Spanish company in the country is still non-specific. It also seems that Ideal Fruits has not yet seriously studied the possibilities of creating such a business in Uzbekistan. However, given that Spain cannot supply blueberries to Russia, where blueberry prices remain among the highest in the world, setting up a company plantation in Uzbekistan would help solve the problem of accessing the lucrative Russian blueberry market. After all, Uzbekistan can freely supply fruits and vegetables to Russia now.

Сообщение Blueberry production in Uzbekistan is a great investment opportunity появились сначала на EastFruit.

According to EastFruit analysts, the persimmon season in Europe is just beginning, but it is safe to say that the prices will be relatively high. Let’s figure out how the countries of our region, namely Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Georgia, can take advantage of this.

Today Spain, the leader of the global persimmon market, is known to receive 20-25% less of the harvest. Moreover, the reason is not frosts, but the rapid spread of the pest Planococcus (mealybug), which has affected most of the persimmon plantations in Spain. This led to an increase in treatments, and hence to an increase in costs, as well as the loss of a part of the persimmon harvest and deterioration of its quality.

Spain annually exports about 210 thousand tons of persimmons, which corresponds to approximately one third of the global trade in this fruit. In the 2021/22 season, the export of persimmons from Spain may decrease to 160-170 thousand tons, which means it will be the lowest in the last decade.

Interestingly, persimmons from Spain and those from the countries of Central Asia and the Caucasus practically do not overlap in the global market. In fact, we can say that these are two completely different products. Previously, they “collided” on the Russian market, but Spain cannot supply persimmons to the Russian Federation, and re-export through such countries as Belarus has recently become more complicated. Therefore, most often these two products can be seen on the neighboring Ukrainian market. Central Asia and the Caucasus, on the other hand, export almost all their persimmons to Russia and the CIS countries.

Since Spain exports its persimmons to other EU countries, as well as to Ukraine and the Middle East, a question arises, does this mean that persimmons from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan and other countries of the region can partially replace Spanish ones in these markets?

First of all, it should be said that persimmon production is actively growing in Georgia and rather stable in the countries of Central Asia. Georgia is increasing production and export every year, and in 2020 for the first time it became one of the 6 countries exporting more than 10 thousand tons of persimmons of its own production. True, Georgia is still far from Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan in terms of export volume. More than 200 thousand tons of persimmons are exported annually from Azerbaijan (mainly to the Russian Federation), and almost 100 thousand tons were exported from Uzbekistan in 2020. The export volumes of Uzbek persimmons are also growing very quickly. Like Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan supplies almost all of its persimmons to Russia and the countries of the former USSR. It must be noted that, perhaps, most of the persimmons from Azerbaijan are re-exports, primarily of Iranian products.

In 2021, the harvest of persimmons in the Caucasus and Central Asia is delayed, but it promises to be quite good. The main problem that can affect the possibilities of export diversification is the difference in the appearance and taste of persimmons.

Spanish persimmons, seedless and not harsh, are often called “Sharon” when sold. In fact, this is not entirely correct, since Sharon is a trademark of the Israeli Triumph persimmon variety. At the same time, we are talking not only about the variety, but also the method of bringing it to the required condition, which has been kept secret for a long time.

However, now this method is also used for other seedless persimmon varieties grown in different countries. In order for persimmon to acquire the desired properties, it is harvested unripe and subjected to accelerated ripening in sealed chambers with a high carbon dioxide content. It removes viscosity, i.e. reduces the content of tannins in persimmons. Previously, ethylene was used for this, as when ripening bananas, but this method leads to persimmons becoming soft, which impairs their transportability and the tannin content does not decrease so significantly.

This method of processing persimmons with carbon dioxide allowed to considerably increase the volume of global trade in them, since they do not grow everywhere. After processing persimmons with carbon dioxide, a large, beautiful and clean fruit of crunchy seedless persimmon is obtained, with a pleasant sweet taste. As the fruit remains quite dense and firm, it can be stored long without losing quality parameters.

In Central Asia and the Transcaucasus, approaches to the cultivation and processing of persimmons are not yet as developed as in the EU countries. Persimmons here tend to have more damage and are less easily transported. Some of the cultivated varieties have large seeds, although there are also seedless varieties. Also, some of the varieties are harsh, as they have a high content of tannins. In addition, modern approaches to ripening are almost not applied here. Accordingly, it is much more difficult to transport and store these persimmons. And supermarkets are less willing to sell such products, since the losses are higher during their sales.

Taking into account the difference in appearance and taste parameters, as well as the higher risks of trade in persimmons from our region, it is obvious that a decrease in the harvest of persimmons in Spain will not have a large impact on the price and export of persimmons from Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Tajikistan and other countries of the region. After all, exports will be directed, as before, primarily to the Russian market, which is the largest importer of persimmon in the world.

Also, most likely, consumers of Spanish persimmon in countries such as Ukraine and Belarus will not buy persimmons from other countries, since this is a completely different product. Another negative factor for persimmons is the excess of cheap apples on the Russian market.

Nevertheless, the most “advanced” persimmon exporters and producers from our region should use this chance in order to find new markets for their persimmons. After all, experts foresee that persimmon prices in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan will decline in the coming weeks.

Among those who will certainly benefit from the decline in the persimmon harvest in Spain are farmers from Israel and Italy, who will be able to raise prices for their products in the 2021/22 season.

By the way, persimmons in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan are increasingly dried in the sun and sold in dried form, which also brings good profit. Part of persimmons in Georgia is sold in a similar way, as we have already described in our material with photographs. In addition, amid the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic, persimmon consumption is trending as tannins in persimmon juice are believed to kill the COVID-19 virus. At the end of last year, there was an incredible jump in persimmon prices in Tajikistan given widespread information in the media and the benefits of persimmons to fight the virus.

In any case, now the positive factors on the regional persimmon market still prevail over the negative ones. This means that the prices for persimmons are likely to be at least not lower than last year, as well as the income of farmers in our region.

Сообщение Poor harvest of persimmon in Spain – is it a chance for Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Georgia? появились сначала на EastFruit.

A year ago, March brought a sharp rise in the price of lemons in Europe, including Poland. This was due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which sparked interest in the procurement of these citrus fruits, according to the analysts of the APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits project citing the fresh-market website .

In the same period in 2020, the average price for lemons on the Polish wholesale market increased by 64% to the level of 9 zlotys / kg ($ 2.34 / kg). Such a price increase was caused by feverish demand for lemons not only in Poland, but across Europe as well.

The situation on the Polish lemon market is quite different this season. And although today the coronavirus pandemic is still ongoing, lemons are no longer in such a rush of demand as during the first wave of the coronavirus. The demand on the fresh market has stabilized, and although it is still much higher than before the outbreak of the pandemic, the demand for lemons no longer reaches the level of March last year.

On the Polish market, prices for lemons have remained stable since mid-February at 4-5.50 zlotys / kg ($ 1.04-1.43 / kg), which is on average 14% cheaper compared to the same period last year. Moreover, it seems unlikely that prices in this segment will rise in the near future.

In Spain, which along with Turkey is the main supplier of lemons to Poland, today the situation in this sector is practically critical. The demand for lemons is very low, mainly due to the long-term closure of the HoReCa sector in Europe (which according to the Spanish estimates accounted for around 40% of the demand). Prices have dropped below cost, and Spanish growers are reluctant to harvest lemons today because production and harvesting costs are not covered.

Сообщение Last year’s scenario of rising prices for lemons in Europe is unlikely to repeat itself появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit reports, citing FreshFruitPortal, that Spain has reduced berries’ export by 6% in January-May this year. According to the Association Freshuelva, export volumes amounted to about 254 thousand tons, while a decrease was recorded in all key segments of the country’s berry export.

Thus, Spanish exporters managed to supply only 163 thousand tons of strawberries to foreign markets, which is 3% less than in the same period last year. At the same time, the export of blueberries fell by 7% to 51 thousand tons, and the supply of raspberries fell by 20% to 37 thousand tons. The most significant decline rates were noted in the export of blackberries, which fell by half to 1.7 thousand tons. Germany, France, and Great Britain remained the leading markets for Spanish berries.

The COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be a key obstacle to the development of Spanish exports. The main sales of strawberries from Spain usually occur in April, and May is an important month for selling blueberries and raspberries. However, according to Rafael Dominguez, the head of Freshuelva, the situation in the country was most critical during these months.

The main challenge posed by COVID-19 was the availability of labor and the safety of seasonal workers employed in the berry plantations in Spain. However, according to Dominguez, there were only two positive cases of COVID-19 infection per 80,000 workers. In general, the start of the season was characterized by a significant shortage of labor. For example, the closure of the border with Morocco did not allow about 13 thousand workers to enter Spain. The general decline in demand for berries in importing countries and the closure of HoReCa enterprises did not add optimism to producers.

Сообщение Spain reduces berry exports due to COVID-19 and labor shortage появились сначала на EastFruit.

EastFruit recently reported an expectation of a record almond harvest in the US. Experts are now forecasting a record harvest of these nuts in Spain, which is the world’s second-largest almond producer.

In addition to the leading countries, almond production is actively developing in many other countries. For example, in Georgia, there are producers managing more than 2 thousand hectares of almonds. Almond orchards are being laid even in Ukraine, where conditions for growing these nuts can hardly be called ideal.

At the same time, the coronavirus crisis and the massive loss of traditional sources of income by the world’s population, do not stimulate the demand for almonds, since this nut does not belong to the category of inexpensive food products. Also, a large part of the nuts was consumed through the HoReCa channel, which practically ceased to exist for several months in 2020. Accordingly, these factors negatively affected the world price for almonds.

In particular, TheClipper reports that the Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Catalonia (FCAC) is concerned about a sharp drop in prices in the almond market after the release of the estimated harvest of these nuts in California and good crop forecasts in Catalonia. Almond harvest in the province of Catalonia, according to experts, will grow by 12%, due to the introduction of new irrigated plantations and the use of more productive varieties and technologies for growing these nuts.

In the Reus market, mainly in the region for the production of this nut in Spain, the price of almonds has already dropped from € 5.30 per kilogram in January last year to € 3.40 per kilogram in the second week of June 2020. The collapse in prices could have a severe negative impact on production in the drylands, which covers most of Catalonia.

Roger Palau, who is responsible for nuts at the FCAC and the Spanish Nut Cooperative Group, notes that “the almond crop occupies over 450,000 hectares of productive land in the region, of which 86% is dry land with significantly lower yields than on irrigated areas. This prevents them from surviving in conditions of maximum and growing competition, which leads to low income and low business profitability. We believe that the almond tree grown on rainfed lands should be protected, taking into account the important ecological role of this crop, both from the point of view of economic and social aspects of the development of rural areas in the producing regions”.

The US, as we said, expects a record 2020 almond harvest of 1.4 million tonnes. Therefore, the Almond Board predicts that imports of American almonds to the European Union will increase by 17.6% compared to 2019.

Сообщение Collapse of world prices for almonds is a serious concern to walnut growers появились сначала на EastFruit.

The enterprise “Green Technology LTD,” located in the village of Baraboy, Ovidiopol district of the Odesa region of Ukraine, is engaged in the cultivation of grapes and peaches of modern varieties of Spanish and Italian selection. At the same time, the owners of the company invest in advanced protection technologies and also use the services of comprehensive agronomic support for foreign companies.

The primary goal of the company is to produce quality products for the consumer in the domestic market of Ukraine. Therefore, the owners of the company from the start of the business decided to organize all work following the best world practice. Firstly, they set up work processes with market analytics to navigate consumer preferences in cultivation and sales markets, and then they began to establish trade relations with reliable partners to realize the future harvest.

Green Technology specialists conducted an EastFruit tour of the company’s fields and talked about the impact of weather risks in horticulture, production technologies used, investments, the difficulties of creating a garden “from a clean field” and shared plans for further development.

Peach seedlings of Spanish selection are well adapted to growing in the south of Ukraine.

On an area of ​​15 hectares, peaches and grapes are grown, and each crop has 7.5 hectares. The garden was created from scratch. In the Odesa region of Ukraine, there is an advantage over the gardeners of neighboring Moldova due to the proximity of the sea and estuary, which creates a thermostat effect and contributes to better crop cultivation.

Before deciding on the varieties of crops, they did a lot of analytical work, talked with successful producers in different countries, as well as traders selling products of the fresh group.

Before planting seedlings, the founders visited many Italian and Spanish growers and examined their production and farming methods. At the same time, the main goal that they initially set was the cleanliness and proper organization to prevent misgrading, namely mixing varieties during selection.

The first 100 peach seedlings were planted by the owner, manager, and agronomist to work out the teamwork system.

At the beginning of the establishment of the Green Technology garden in April 2020, the first 100 peach seedlings were planted by three people, namely the owner of the company, the agronomist, and the manager of the enterprise. Thus, the company has worked out a system for the further work of horticultural teams.

“We understood the number of people needed to start a garden. In the future, we involved five people in the team, which carried out planting on one row of the garden. To plant four rows, 20 people were involved. Having soaked the soil well with water using an irrigation system, we planted each seedling in a separate pot of peat. By the way, we have worked out the same system when planting grapes, having planted almost 14 thousand seedlings in two days,” says the managing director of the company Alexander Pokholchenko, adding that the garden is equipped with five sections of a “smart” irrigation system.

“For the production of peaches, we purchased seedlings of Spanish selection of early and late varieties, because Spain is one of the world leaders in peach production. As practice shows, peach seedlings in the mild winters of the south of Ukraine tolerate the winter period well. Therefore, there are no risks from the point of view of freezing culture. Our garden was laid out using intensive technology and is designed to receive 40-50 tons of yield per hectare, while in ordinary gardens, it does not exceed 10-15 tons/hectare.

We expect to get the harvest of the early peach variety “Extreme 315” in the second decade of July, and the late variety “Extreme 469” – in the second decade of September. Besides, currently, we have a flat fig peach of the Spanish selection,” says the agronomist of the enterprise Yuriy Zelenchenko.

Peach cultivation is carried out by Green Technology specialists according to the Spanish Leader system. Its essence lies in the fact that the planting of seedlings is carried out at a distance of 1.5 m from each other, and the tree should have an average height of 3.8-4 m and have one trunk. This is a practice of growing technical peaches. This technology has its advantages as the fruit is placed high, and the cold does not get there during flowering. Besides, the speed of maintenance of such a tree increases, in particular, it is easier to prune it. By the way, in Italy, in one shift, one worker removes up to 700 kg of a peach planted using this system.

The manager of the company also notes that when choosing a place for laying a garden, which began on February 19 of this year, they were guided not only by natural and climatic conditions but also by the proximity to settlements. “The people of our village are employed permanently, and 6-7 people go to work every day. Currently, mostly men work, as physically, it is a difficult job. At the same time, the farm manager is at work since 6 a.m., setting tasks, the main of which are tillage, clearing seedlings, installing wire trellises, drip irrigation,” he Yuriy Zelenchenko notes.

Green Technology owns 48 hectares of land. “There are plans to launch another 33 hectares. This year, due to quarantine, we were two months late with planting the garden, as it was impossible to deliver seedlings from Italy due to closed borders. Due to the delay in delivery, we do not have a European tractor, while we use an inexpensive Chinese tractor,” says Alexander.

The manager of the company also adds that in the future, it is planned to build refrigerators for storage and a garage for agricultural machinery on the territory of the garden.

About the features of the season

According to Yuriy Zelenchenko, this season is quite difficult for most winegrowers and gardeners in Ukraine. This is due to difficult weather conditions, namely spring frosts, and prolonged rains in early June negatively affected the development of crops in most farms. Gardeners expect crop shortages for different crops.

Since “Green Technology” at the beginning of the current season just laid new vineyards and peach orchards, the weather anomalies were less reflected in work in the company’s fields. At the same time, the company systematically approached the planning of the entire growing and harvesting process and the process of minimizing risks.

Yuriy Zelenchenko notes three factors of weather risks that affect the horticultural business in the south of Ukraine. The first and most severe is winter frosts, the second is precipitation, and the third is summer hail. To ensure that the harvest does not depend on the weather, the company immediately provided a hail screen.

EastFruit notes that orchards that are not protected from hail have a high risk of crop damage. Support structures for anti-hail and rain netting or sheeting in intensive orchards and vineyards are among the most effective ways to protect future crops. This technology also improves the overall quality of the product, which means getting a higher price and reducing losses during storage. In the conditions of open cultivation, such as grapes, it is unrealistic to obtain quality products, while any rain before harvest can destroy the quality of the product and make it unsuitable for long-term storage. Such grapes can only be sold for processing into grape alcohol very cheaply, which means that you will receive a guaranteed loss.

As for the effect of low temperatures in winter, according to the agronomist of the enterprise, at the moment, gardeners cannot significantly influence them.

“Winter frosts do not negatively affect crops. Instead, frosts significantly damage the soil. However, there are a variety of options to mitigate such a risk. For example, it is possible to use a machine that heats the air and prevents the seedlings from freezing. For the future, I think that we will also cover this risk factor. As for the grapes, we will cover it with a film to minimize the factor of production and natural risks,” says Yuriy Zelenchenko.

The drip irrigation system will help to combat another negative weather factor – summer drought at the enterprise. This system not only contributes to increased productivity but is also one of the essential components of modernizing agricultural production methods to cope with drought and water scarcity. The essence of the irrigation system is that low-pressure gravity systems can be used for various crops. Precise control allows the right amount of water to be dispensed at the base of each plant, maximizing efficiency and minimizing waste.

Agronomic support online from specialists from Spain and Italy helps to introduce modern technologies.

Significant attention in “Green Technology” is paid to production technologies for obtaining a high-quality harvest of peach and grapes.

Yuri Zelenchenko notes that they plan to use Italian technology in the vineyards, the so-called ceiling trellis, which is ideal for the production of table grapes. The use of this technology can increase the yield by 10-15%. In this case, the vine has a height of about 2 m, and from each of them, 3-5 pagans begin to grow in a horizontal position and rest on a grid with a cell of 50 by 50 cm made of wire fixed on supports.

“Why did we come to this decision? The fact is that the sun’s rays during the ripening period of grapes burn large bunches and the products in the future can only be sent to processing, and not to the fresh market. In the case of using a trellis, the bunch will be protected by a horizontal arrangement, and the influence of sunlight on it will be much less. However, for me, as an agronomist, the question remains unclear how the grapes will winter on such a trellis. Indeed, some farms still use a covering culture in preparation for winter to eliminate the risk of freezing. I hope that with the intensification of the global warming process over time, we will eliminate such risks,” says the agronomist.

Green Technology also uses the consulting services of foreign specialists in agro-technological support. “I have education and experience in gardening and viticulture, but this is not enough. When we bought seedlings from Spanish and Italian nurseries, the necessary condition was the accompaniment of an international consultant. Today, on-line, they deal with issues of agricultural technology support. By the way, these people had to come to us to help solve key moments, such as the process of planting and forming. However, due to the current situation related to the global coronavirus pandemic, all consultations are carried out online. I send them photos and videos in the messenger and receive recommendations according to what I saw,” says Yuriy Zelenchenko.

“Our task is to make Ukraine a serious producer of peaches and table grapes, and for this, we need to collect the most powerful horticultural technologies in the world.”

Today, the main task is to get the first harvest in the established vineyards and peach orchards. In the future, a decision will be made to expand the crops.

“These will either be new varieties of table grapes or an increase in the number of varieties of peaches, or we will grow plums. In the beginning, we also wanted to start growing Belgian cherries, but we have refused for now. Our task is to collect the most powerful horticultural technologies in the world. The climate allows us to do this as there is irrigation, the borders are open, so why not use the experience that we already have,” says the agronomist.

Initially, Green Technology LTD focuses on the volume of the domestic market and establishes links for the sale of future products.

As you know, the players of the fruit and vegetable market should also remember that the production process falls into the cost part of the enterprise, and profit is possible only at the stage of product sales. Therefore, when planning any business, you need to “go from market demands,” know who your customer is and engage in marketing from the very beginning.

In the fields of Green Technology LTD, EastFruit saw consistency and manufacturability in approaches, the correct selection of varieties and agronomic support, the use of the latest technologies from the first stage of growing the future harvest of grapes and peaches.

Сообщение Garden “from scratch”: approaches to horticultural business, investments and technologies from Green Technology LTD появились сначала на EastFruit.