In the first quarter of 2024, Ukraine significantly increased the volume of exports of frozen vegetables compared to the same period last year, reaching 2.2 thousand tons, which is twice as much as in 2023. This percentage translates into more than $2.7 million in export revenue, according to the EastFruit project.

Experts note that Ukraine is actively developing the export of frozen vegetables in 2024. The main export items are frozen cauliflower, broccoli and sweet corn. The largest buyers of Ukrainian frozen vegetables are Germany, Israel, Belgium, Italy, Poland, France and Romania, with Israel importing mostly frozen sweet corn.

Andriy Yarmak, an investment economist at the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), explains that the growth in the export of frozen vegetables is connected with the rapid development of berry cultivation in Ukraine. After a significant increase in raspberry production in the country, investors began to actively invest in enterprises for freezing this berry. This contributed to the expansion of production to other berries, fruits and vegetables, which made it possible to increase the volume of exports of frozen vegetables year after year.

Yarmak notes that Ukraine is still at the initial stage of development of this industry and has the potential for further growth. At the same time, he points out that Ukraine currently imports more frozen vegetables than it exports, which makes the issues of product quality and product range expansion urgent.

In particular, the growth of the export of frozen vegetables testifies to the prospects of the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex in the international dimension. This provides an opportunity not only to strengthen the position in foreign markets, but also contributes to the economic growth of the country and the development of local producers.