Imported strawberries have ruined the start of the season for Ukrainian producers
26 April 13:10
Imported strawberries from Greece have already driven down prices at the start of the season, forcing Ukrainian producers to enter the market at lower-than-expected prices. Ksenia Guseva, a fruit and vegetable market expert at IA “APK-Inform,” wrote about this in her article for the magazine “Gardening Ukrainian Style ,” reports "Komersant Ukrainian" with reference to AgroTimes.
In late March and early April, the retail price quickly dropped to 200 UAH/kg, which automatically lowered the purchase price to around 150 UAH/kg or less. Under these conditions, the traditional starting price for Ukrainian greenhouse strawberries at 180–200 UAH/kg no longer applies.
“Right now, the people I’ve called about strawberries are planning to start greenhouse production sometime in May due to weather conditions,” noted Guseva.
According to her, greenhouse production volumes remain small, and there are virtually no statistics on berries.
The open-field market is entirely dependent on the weather, and large-scale shipments are not expected until mid-June at the earliest. At the same time, imports—which often fall short in taste—are already setting the price benchmark and may maintain pressure until the end of June, as was the case last year.
“Last year, imports continued until the end of June, until Ukrainian produce hit the market in large quantities,” the expert added.
In her assessment, future price trends will depend on the weather: even without frosts, a cool summer could sharply raise prices due to delays in berry ripening.
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