17 May 2021
Company's news
At the moment, there are no obstacles to the successful establishment of the export of Ukrainian cherries to the Chinese market. However, the volume of premium quality products, which is of interest to the consumer from the Middle Kingdom, is extremely small in Ukraine today. Moreover, in 2018-2019. Ukrainian producers exported cherries to China. In the current year, given the poor harvest of this fruit in Ukraine, export volumes were minimal. This opinion was expressed President of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association (UPOA) Taras Bashtannik.
Note that the issue of opportunities, overcoming barriers, and taking into account all the risks of the Chinese market when Ukrainian producers of fruit and vegetable products enter it will be discussed during the online discussion "Fruit and vegetable exports to China: barriers and opportunities for Ukrainian producers", which will be held on December 16 at 11.00 on the Zoom platform. The event is free of charge, subject to prior registration.
At the same time, the UPOA president calls blueberries the second most promising fruit and vegetable products of Ukraine for export to China. However, speaking about the export of blueberries, it should be understood that in the next couple of years Ukraine will not increase the volumes sufficient for this. At the same time, several years must be spent on going through all the bureaucratic procedures associated with obtaining permits.
“Nevertheless, blueberries are a promising export position. After all, China is a net importer of this berry, ”said Taras Bashtannik.
UPOA Development Director Ekaterina Zvereva notes that blueberries are quite an expensive berry on the foreign market. It can be transported to China, in particular, by air, while UPOA specialists are also studying the issue of the possible organization of railway transportation, because such delivery is 4-5 times cheaper.
Ekaterina Zvereva notes that the season for delivering fresh blueberries from Ukraine is July-September. The main export varieties supplied by Ukrainian producers to foreign markets are Duke, Bluegold, Bluecrop, Elliot, Liberty.
As a successful example of Ukrainian fruit and vegetable products entering the Chinese market, according to the UPOA Development Director, the frozen berry segment can be considered.
“This market was opened for a Ukrainian manufacturer two years ago. Last year, the Rivneholod company exported several thousand tons of products to China. This is a fairly large volume, given that the total annual export volume of Ukrainian frozen berries is 22-23 thousand tons, ”says Ekaterina Zvereva.
As Taras Golub, Advisor to the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, notes, today the issues of establishing food exports are one of the most important.
“In order to establish interaction on this topic as soon as possible, we are actively looking for contacts with specialized associations. I see that we have direct opportunities for this. Therefore, today it is important to understand what priority issues we should focus on, ”Taras Golub notes.
In his opinion, today it is extremely important to organize a primary dialogue on establishing stable exports of Ukrainian products to China with market players. “Firstly, we want to hear their opinions, wishes and problems. Then, at the next stage, it would already be possible to move on to a substantive dialogue on which priority product, ”Taras Golub believes.
He also believes that when entering the Chinese market, Ukrainian business needs to clearly understand the key competence of their company. “And you don't just need to look for a partner. It is necessary to clearly trace the presence of a chain of participants and maintain relations with them so that this chain is not broken. Therefore, today it is important to identify companies interested in exporting certain products to the Chinese market and conduct a dialogue on this issue at the level of the intergovernmental Ukraine-Chinese commission. After all, if you enlist the support of the Chinese government agencies, then this will be a completely different level of discussion, ”Taras Golub noted, adding that in this context, in all likelihood, it is possible to develop a pilot project for the supply of Ukrainian blueberries.
“This will be much more effective than the attempts of individual companies to discover the Chinese market on their own,” summed up the adviser to the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine.
It should be noted that the organizer of the online discussion "Fruit and Vegetable Export to China: Barriers and Opportunities for Ukrainian Producers" is the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association (UPOA) with the information support of Sapienza AGROMEDIA Agency.
Online discussion moderator: Ekaterina Zvereva, UPAA Development Director.
Online discussion speakers:
• Taras Golub, Advisor to the Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration;
• Andriy Yarmak, Economist, Investment Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
• Vitaly Skotsik, Doctor of Economics;
• Vladislava Magaletskaya, Chairman of the State Food Service;
• Taras Bashtannik, President of the UPOA.
Producers and exporters of vegetables and fruits from Ukraine will be able to join the discussion of the topic of Ukrainian agribusiness entering the Chinese market by posing their questions to the event participants in the comments.
If you would like to participate as a speaker of an online event, please contact the organizers by phone:
+380 99-737 17 92 - Ekaterina Zvereva,
+380 63 104 5337 - Nina Grishchenko.
