Prices for blueberries on the domestic market of Ukraine last year were lower than in 2020. At the same time, producers themselves began to sell blueberries cheaper even before the harvest reached full volumes.

Irina Kukhtina, President of the Association "Ukrainian Berries" told about this during the international forum "Intensive Berry Grower" organized by the "Plantator" magazine.

She noted that global consumption and production of blueberries continued to grow. Covid also contributed to the increase in demand, because the berry was promoted as a healthy product. Processing is gradually gaining momentum, but the fresh market is growing faster. Against this background, European supermarkets keep prices.

China is the most actively increasing blueberry production in the world. Our neighbor Poland is also not slowing down, with which we will face tough competition in the blue segment in the near future. In 2016-2019, blueberry production there increased by 18%.

 In the period from 2017 to 2020, Ukraine under the pigeon increased the area from 1.5 thousand to 4.4 thousand hectares. The first steps are being taken by the processing segment: blueberries are being frozen and made into jams and wine. Small farms began to deal with the popular berry.

The expert stressed that not all major manufacturers have realized their export plans. On the other hand, there is no point in placing bets on the foreign market when sufficiently attractive prices remain on the domestic market. In 2021, they were slightly lower than last year, but there was no significant subsidence either. At the same time, there were no objective reasons for the decline: the producers themselves began to sell blueberries cheaper even before the harvest reached full volumes.

AgroTimes