Although Ukrainian farmers harvested nearly 29 million tons of vegetables in 2023, Ukraine continues to import significant quantities of basic vegetables, including tomatoes, onions, carrots, beets, and cabbage.
According to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food, Ukraine harvested 21.2 million tons of potatoes in 2023. At the same time, entrepreneurs report that the country has started to massively buy potatoes from Poland due to rising prices for this product in the domestic market. In 2023, Ukraine imported 12,936 tons of potatoes, compared to 13,942 tons in 2022 and 178,120 tons in 2021. Potato imports are expected to be quite dynamic in the first half of 2024.
According to the State Statistics Service, in 2023, Ukraine imported 75,900 tons of onions (compared to 105,500 tons in 2022 and 23,000 tons in 2021). The onion harvest in Ukraine in 2023 was 877,000 tons.
Tomato imports in 2023 amounted to 95,307 tons, compared to 93,888 tons in 2022 and 101,900 tons in 2021. The tomato harvest in 2023 was 1.4 million tons.
Cabbage imports increased to 30,560 tons compared to 18,800 tons in 2021 (and 51,587 tons in 2022). The cabbage harvest in 2023 was 1.3 million tons.
Entrepreneurs imported 31,900 tons of carrots, turnips, table beets, radishes, and celery in 2023, compared to 5,000 tons in 2021 (and 53,930 tons in 2022). The carrot harvest was 810,000 tons, and table beets amounted to 766,000 tons.
Imports of lettuce and chicory totalled 8,900 tons in 2023, compared to 6,000 tons in 2022 and 10,900 tons in 2021.
Ukraine imported 28,900 tons of cucumbers into the domestic market in 2023 (compared to 38,200 tons in 2022 and 24,500 tons in 2021).
In total, Ukraine spent $344 million on vegetable imports in 2023.
source: agroperspectiva.com