This summer, the Ukrainian cherry market will remain well-supplied, and no shortage of berries is expected. Experts predict that during the mass sale period, the seasonal cost of cherries in Ukraine will stabilize within 100-150 hryvnias per kilogram.

This is reported by EastFruit. Analysts note that the Ukrainian harvest will be enough to saturate the domestic market, despite the difficult weather conditions that this year affected a significant part of fruit and vegetable crops.

Ukraine is traditionally one of the world's leading producers of cherries. During the active harvest period, the average price of berries is usually 2-3 dollars per kilogram. A similar price level is also typical for Turkey, the largest producer of cherries in the world.

As Professor Olena Kishchak, who heads the breeding and technological department of the Institute of Horticulture of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, told UNIAN, this year the sweet cherry suffered much less from adverse weather than other fruit crops.

According to the expert, the farms of the Odessa and Dnipropetrovsk regions were able to avoid the serious consequences of spring frosts. It was these regions that, after the temporary occupation of Crimea, as well as parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, became the main centers of sweet cherry and apricot production in Ukraine.

At the same time, the current high prices for the berry are explained mainly by the import of early products. In particular, at the Odessa market "Pryvoz" sweet cherries were sold for 1,800–2,500 hryvnias per kilogram because they are early fruits from Spain.

In Spain, which is the main supplier of sweet cherries to the European Union market, prices for this product start at 25 euros per kilogram. Taking into account logistics and trade mark-ups, such a value is also formed on the Ukrainian market.

Greek cherries are already noticeably cheaper. As of May 19, they were sold at a price of 1,000 to 1,300 hryvnias per kilogram at the Kiev wholesale market "Stolichny".

Experts predict a further decrease in the price of the berry with the beginning of the mass arrival of medium-early and medium varieties. A similar situation was observed last year, when, after active discussion of high prices in the media, Ukrainian producers nevertheless provided the market with high-quality cherries at a price of 75–150 hryvnias per kilogram. Because of this, large-scale imports of products from Turkey and Uzbekistan turned out to be economically unprofitable.

Olena Kishchak also reminded that cherries are products with a short shelf life. That is why sellers, even in difficult conditions, are forced to take into account the real purchasing power of Ukrainian consumers, the publication says.