Ukrainian farmers lose up to 60% of their vegetable and fruit harvest - there is no storage

Postharvest losses of vegetables and fruits in Ukrainian agricultural producers amount to 60% due to the lack of properly equipped storage facilities. According to another analysis of the fresh fruit and vegetable market in the EU and Ukraine, another problem is that small and medium-sized farmers often do not have the necessary certificates for export to EU countries.

In addition, speaking about the sale of fruits and vegetables produced in Ukraine, it should be noted that domestic farmers do not have constant access to the market, namely the connection with numerous market channels, which allows them to switch from local open-air markets to working with traders. 

Currently, in general, the production of fruit and vegetable products in Ukraine is dominated by small farms, which accounted for 94% of the volume of vegetables and 82% of the volume of fruits in 2022. And since many fresh fruits and vegetables are perishable products, an important advantage for the Ukrainian fruit and vegetable sector is the geographical proximity to the EU market, which implies shorter transportation times and a smaller carbon footprint associated with logistics.

A similar problem arises, for example, due to the fact that there is a shortage of potato warehouses in Ukraine. Currently, the available capacity allows for storage of 350,000 tons instead of two million. In total, 3.5 million tons of potatoes are used for domestic consumption. Ukrainians will consume fresh potatoes for four months, and we need to store them for another eight months. Currently, Ukraine has a mechanism to stimulate the economy - the "5-7-9%" program, but it does not extend to the construction of potato warehouses. Therefore, potato processing will not appear until a sufficient number of enterprises that can store potatoes, including for processing, appear. Accordingly, according to experts, additions should be made to the "5-7-9%" program regarding, for example, storage facilities.