The EastFruit team reviewed the main events of 2020 and analyzed what impact they may have on the development of the berry business in 2021, both in a global and regional context.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, declining revenue and complicated logistics, the berry trade flourished in 2020. Concerns about health and immunity, regardless of cost, has become the main reason for the sharp increase in the consumption of berries, which most people consider one of the most beneficial fruits for health.

In this sense, the greatest support was received by blueberries, a berry whose trade is growing faster. According to our preliminary estimates, the global blueberry trade in 2020 grew by at least 16% to 18% and exceeded $ 4.500 billion. This means that the volume of world trade in fresh blueberries is already at least $ 1.2 billion higher than the volume of world trade in fresh strawberries.

Particularly impressive was the growth of blueberry imports to countries such as Russia by almost 70% per year, Sweden by 45% per year, Estonia more than 2.5 times and Lithuania twice as much. Interestingly, the import of fresh blueberries to Estonia is now only slightly lower than the import of blueberries to Sweden.

The main development of the global blueberry market was the change of the world leader in terms of export volume, which became Peru. In 2020, according to estimates by EastFruit, Peru will consolidate its leadership in the global throne of the world's leading blueberry exporters and will continue to increase exports faster than any other country in the world.

Given the trend of consumer interest in berries, which are considered superfoods, honeysuckle appears in an even more positive new light. Fans of haskap berries believe that you can even follow the success of blueberries in the global berry market, however this will obviously take a lot of time and effort to improve your selection. There will be a need for milder varieties that are easier to harvest by hand with more predictable growing results and that maintain good palatability.

Returning to our region, we will notice the progress of Georgia about which we have written a lot! EastFruit estimated Georgia blueberry exports at 630 tons, but the final figures were even higher with exports amounting to around 665 tons or 3.4 times more than in 2019.

Ukraine, which until 2020 was among the world leaders in terms of growth of blueberry exports, has abruptly yielded its positions, having reduced exports by more than one and a half times to 1.200 tonnes. The main reason for the decline in exports was the loss of crops due to frost, but the domestic market continued to grow. Therefore, berry growers in Ukraine received higher prices for all types of berries. At the beginning of the season, blueberry prices were almost double what they were in 2019. Poland also suffered from frosts and, according to our estimates, also reduced the volume of blueberry exports in physical terms, but very slightly. However, blueberry exports from Poland increased in value terms.

High prices have spurred interest in establishing new blueberry plantations in Ukraine, the area of ​​which could triple in the coming years. Containerized blueberry cultivation technologies turned out to be especially interesting for Ukrainian farmers, but the climatic conditions in Ukraine made this technology risky in most regions.

APK-Inform: The unique vegetable and fruit research study “Blueberry Market in Eastern Europe-2020” aroused great interest in the market by showing a complete picture of varieties, areas, technologies, production volumes, exports, imports, etc. ., for Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. The information is collected directly from nearly all of the major producers in these countries, not from official statistics, and many of the study's findings were a revelation for EastFruit analysts.

Prices for other types of berries in the region were also favorable in 2020. Frosts, for example, had completely redesigned the situation on the strawberry market in Ukraine and Poland. Strawberry prices were high.

Frosts also affected raspberries. However, an even greater impact on the prices of raspberries in Ukraine was influenced by the reduction of areas in 2019 with a strong increase in the freezing capacity. Raspberries were expensive too, and not just in Ukraine. Export prices for raspberries also increased and with them earnings from exports of frozen raspberries from Ukrainian production, despite the reduction in volumes. However, the abnormally warm autumn in Ukraine turned out to be a real treat for farmers who grew remontant raspberries. After all, many continued to harvest fresh raspberries in November, they were actively and successfully sold to supermarket chains, and the raspberry freezing process continued. Remontant raspberries in 2020 definitely generated good income for farmers in Ukraine and Moldova.

It is also worth mentioning that the Ukrainian Horticultural Association (UHA), which is an important player for the Ukrainian berry business and has always placed great emphasis on promoting Ukrainian berry exports, has shifted from leadership. One of the most famous berry growers in the region, Taras Bashtannyk, became president of the UHA and the UHA Berry Committee was led by Yevhen Kharlan of iBerry. The UHA plans to intensify work in the berry management to stimulate investments in the berry business, promote cooperation of berry producers in exports and processing, and raise the professional level of berry producers in Ukraine. .

In Moldova, the berry business did not develop so actively. For example, industrial blueberry plantations in the country were literally “one, two, finished”, which means that only the second planting appeared in 2020. A new incentive for the development of the Moldovan berry business will be the possibility of use underground wells to irrigate orchards, berry fields and vineyards.

The bankruptcy of Vanrik Agro, Georgia's largest blueberry producer, sparked an international backlash, even thanks to neutral posts from EastFruit. Here are the stories in chronological order: bankruptcy auction, charges on one side, and charges on the other side. It seems that the 2020 season turned out to be a success for the new owner. Foresight Investment Group, which bought the Vanrik Agro assets at the end of the season, promised to expand the plantation to 260 hectares.

In summarizing the 2020 results for the berry business, Andriy Yarmak, economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Investment Center, draws attention to two important aspects for future development: cooperation and market access and information.

“The berry business is developing very quickly and does not contain timeless dogmas that cannot be disproved by scientific and technological progress. Given that the berry business is now showing the fastest growth in the sector, it is berry producers that attract the most investment in R&D, that is, in the automation of cultivation and harvesting technologies, selection and adaptation of varieties to new climatic zones, its resistance to pests and diseases, increasing productivity, taste qualities and portability. Under these conditions, a successful berry business must have obligatory and constant access to technological and marketing innovations, which means that all specialists in the company must have a good knowledge of English. In addition, they should closely monitor the market situation and at the same time use independent professional research,

“It should also be noted that even the largest berry producers in our region are extremely small. After all, it is very important to be able to ship batches of 10-20 tons per day if we want to be export oriented and competitive and there are practically no such manufacturers. Therefore, there is no alternative to cooperation, even for large berry-growing farmers. That is why we have been promoting improvements in the Ukrainian legislation on cooperation for so long and persistently and we are glad that it was passed in 2020, ”explains the FAO economist.

When talking about market priorities for berry exporters, the FAO expert advises separating the frozen market from the fresh one. “Of course, fresh berries are now more profitable to supply to EU countries. Here, I believe that Ukraine and Moldova have the greatest untapped opportunities in growing and exporting raspberries and blackberries, even if this requires making summer greenhouses. Of course, fresh blueberries will be the main export position for fresh berries for Ukraine and Georgia. At the same time, Georgia will increasingly focus on Russia, although its market window is so attractive that even with the closure of the EU market, Georgian blueberries will remain competitive in the Ukrainian market, in the Middle East and even in the EU countries. Ukraine will most likely eventually be able to supply blueberry container shipments by sea to Middle Eastern countries, directly reaching large buyers and optimizing logistics, but this may not happen anytime soon. Meanwhile, it is worth developing airborne exports to Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries to gain a foothold in these markets, ”explains Mr. Yarmak.

“Frozen berries continue to be one of the most promising areas of market development. With global blueberry prices falling in the coming years, frozen blueberries will also become a common export category. First of all, I would continue to pay attention to Southeast Asian countries where the frozen berry segment has great prospects and infrastructure, but is completely underdeveloped just because most consumers are unaware of the existence of frozen berries. Therefore, a relatively small investment in the development of this market can give excellent results for berry producers, especially for frozen raspberries from Ukraine, Serbia, Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina ”, explains the FAO expert.

Overall, according to EastFruit analysts, we can see a sharp increase in the supply of many types of berries on the market in 2021 if there are no natural disasters. In the first place, when it comes to blueberries, whose production in Spain, for example, may be 50% higher than last year. Ukraine may even double production in 2021. Therefore, the probability that the prices of most types of berries will be lower than last season is still very high. Furthermore, much will depend on the situation regarding the coronavirus pandemic, which still has a long way to go.