The harvest outcomes in Ukraine have led to adjustments in the country's vegetable import strategy, as reported by SEEDS. Bogdan Dukhnitsky, a senior researcher at the Department of Agricultural Production Economics and International Integration of the National Research Center Institute of Agrarian Economics, shared insights during the VeggiFruits conference. He noted that the first 10 months of 2024 saw a decline in the value volumes of vegetable supplies to Ukraine, impacting their quantitative volumes. However, fruit and berry imports maintained their total value level compared to 2023.
Dukhnitsky highlighted a notable increase in potato imports by 90% from the previous year's base, attributing this to the current year's crop shortfall. Conversely, imports of other staple vegetables like onions, garlic, carrots, cabbage, and cucumbers have significantly decreased. This shift is partly due to the re-location and deformatization of specialization, allowing many enterprises to offset the substantial decline experienced in 2022.
He further elaborated on the geographical structure of vegetable supplies to Ukraine, with Turkey, Poland, and the Netherlands being the primary sources. Dukhnitsky remarked on the standard production volume of vegetables in Ukraine, which is about 10 million tons. However, production dropped to 7.5 million tons in 2022, a 25% decrease from the typical supply. In 2023, production partially recovered to over 8 million tons.
Vegetable imports surged in 2022, contributing to the category witnessing the largest price increase of 68%. Despite this, fruits remained among the most expensive products in 2023. Looking ahead to 2025, Dukhnitsky anticipates continued market uncertainty and high risks due to significant decreases in the quantitative and qualitative parameters of crops like cabbage, apples, grapes, and potatoes. This necessitates ongoing imports, which also drive high prices. Nevertheless, he believes that the domestic market supply in Ukraine will primarily rely on its own production, leveraging the country's natural and climatic advantages.
Source: open4business