New berry records: Ukraine increased exports to Switzerland and China

Ukraine increased export of frozen raspberries to Switzerland by 86%

According to EastFruit analysts, in 2023, Ukraine made a real "berry breakthrough" into the very difficult Swiss market. The fact is that Switzerland is not part of the European Union, so the food market in this country is very protected from imports, and the requirements for product safety and quality are very high. That is why the first real success of suppliers from Ukraine in this market is an important milestone for the further development of Ukraine's expansion into the world markets of fresh and frozen berries.

From January to November 2023, inclusive, Ukraine supplied Switzerland with 393 tons of frozen raspberries, which was 86% more than a year earlier, and 288 tons of other frozen berries, most likely wild bilberries, which was 63% more than during the same period in 2022. However, the biggest breakthrough occurred in the segment of fresh blueberries, the export of which increased 16 times and reached 100 tons. And although this is, as before, a relatively small volume, good dynamics are important. In terms of the rate of growth of supplies to the Swiss market, Ukraine surpassed all competitors.

In addition, Ukraine also supplied more blueberries to Switzerland than such a large European exporter as Portugal. By the way, during the same period, Poland was not able to increase the export of fresh blueberries to Switzerland compared to last year, not least because of the growing competition from Ukraine.

By volume of frozen raspberry deliveries to Switzerland, Ukraine entered the top 5 largest exporters, surpassing Chile. It should also be noted that none of the countries increased supplies at such a pace as Ukraine. At the same time, Poland reduced the export of frozen raspberries to Switzerland during the reporting period by 24%.

"The sharp increase in the supply of berries to the Swiss market can be considered very important for strengthening Ukraine's reputation not only as a supplier of affordable products, but also as a supplier of high-quality berries. Let's hope that Ukraine will be able to continue to increase investments in improving the quality of products in order to more fully use its natural and climatic advantages and have a reserve for increasing purchase prices for berries. This, in turn, will make it possible to increase investments in their cultivation", - Andriy Yarmak, economist of the investment department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), believes.

Ukraine increased its export of frozen blueberries to China 5 times and entered the top seven

As EastFruit reports, active expansion of Ukraine into the world markets of frozen berries and fruits continues.

Another confirmation was the publication of official Chinese data on imports of frozen fruits and berries, except for strawberries, raspberries and blackberries for the 11 months of 2023. According to this information, deliveries of frozen fruits and berries from Ukraine increased 4.7 times compared to the period "January-November 2022" and became an all-time record. Ukraine's revenue from exports in this category amounted to $3.1 million. Among all suppliers of frozen fruits and other berries, Ukraine entered the top 7 for the first time and almost overtook Poland, which occupies the sixth position.

"It is most likely that almost the entire volume of exports in this category is accounted for by deliveries of frozen blueberries and, perhaps, partially, wild bilberries. The fact is that Ukraine has not yet been able to supply fresh blueberries to the Chinese market, but frozen blueberries became possible a few years ago. By the way, since there is no separate international HS code for frozen blueberries yet, and this category also includes all fruits without exception, including exotic ones, then if we exclude fruits and exotics, then Ukraine, most likely, is currently the third largest supplier of frozen blueberries to China after Chile and Poland," an economist at the FAO investment department Andriy Yarmak explains.

By the way, for Ukraine in 2023, China is only the 10th largest sales market in this category of frozen fruits and berries. Poland remains the main sales market. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that part of the Polish export of frozen blueberries to China is actually a Ukrainian berry.

IC UAC according to EastFruit