Poland increases cucumber imports from Ukraine
Ukrainian exporters started sending cucumbers to the EU at the beginning of February and despite hig…Ukrainian exporters started sending cucumbers to the EU at the beginning of February and despite high prices, European buyers have shown an interest in purchasing Ukrainian cucumbers.
According to Info-Shuvar, Ukrainian hothouse cucumber prices currently cost 52-55 UAH/kg (1.84-1.92 EUR/kg) at the Shuvar Wholesale market, while Polish greenhouse grown cucumbers are being sold for 1.75-1.95 EUR/kg at “Bronisze” in Warsaw.
In 2015, Poland replaced Belarus as the largest export destination.
The biggest competitors for Ukraine in Poland are Turkey and Spain, with Turkish cucumbers having the advantage of a lower price. After the Russian embargo, Turkish suppliers were also forced to start looking for new buyers and markets.
However, Ukrainian suppliers think that Ukrainian cucumbers may be a great competitor for the Turkish produce because of the good price-quality relation. Still, it will be successful only if it is well prepared for sale as it is a premium quality produce that should be carefully selected and packed.
Ukraine exported to the EU a record-breaking amount of cucumbers 2016, with imports coming in at around 2300 tons, compared to a little more than 1000 tons in 2015.