Ukrainian Technical Apples in Demand in Poland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom

Last season, Ukrainian gardeners found it more profitable to sell apples for processing due to low harvest quality, compared to producers from Serbia and European countries. This was reported by Volodymyr Hurzhiy, the head of USPA Fruit, in a review for the magazine “Ukrainian Horticulture.”

This is reported by AgroReview

Demand for Technical Apples from Ukraine is Rising

According to the expert, Ukraine has a significantly larger domestic market for apple processing than most European countries. Volodymyr Hurzhiy noted that this year there have been numerous requests for the purchase of technical apples from Poland, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Such interest from these countries in such volumes had not been observed before.

“Ukraine has a significantly larger domestic processing market,” he explained. “We received many requests for technical apples from Poland, the Netherlands, and even the United Kingdom, and this was the first time in such volume. For two to three weeks, there was a higher price for it there, considering delivery. However, we did not systematically send it because it was more profitable for producers to sell juice domestically.”

Changes in the Concentrate Market Due to Global Trends

Over the past two years, the price of apple concentrate has gradually increased. The main reason for this has been the decrease in orange production for processing in Brazil. In 2024, this country exported 2.8 million tons of juices, mainly in the form of orange concentrate. However, in 2023, due to unfavorable weather conditions and the spread of diseases, production significantly fell, leading to a sharp reduction in stocks. In response, processors began to change their technologies, replacing orange concentrate with apple concentrate, as both products are liquid fructose and can partially substitute for each other.

Read also: A Factory for Apple Concentrate and Berry Juices is Being Built in Bukovina