Ukraine's Potato Imports Spike at 503% Over Previous Year

Ukraine recently started importing potatoes from Poland, where prices fell sharply due to a significant reduction in consumption throughout the European foodservice segment. This was announced by the President of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association (UPOA), Taras Bashtannyk, quoted by ProAgro Group. "We have been importing products from Russia and Belarus for two years now, and this year, at the beginning of summer, we started importing potatoes from the Netherlands and now imports from Poland have also started. This is due to the fact that prices and consumption in Poland have fallen significantly. Consumption of foodservice segments of potatoes, as well as volumes for processing, have been reduced due to quarantine lockdowns. The large volumes of potatoes on the market have put pressure on prices, resulting in a fall below production cost," he said.

Thus, the average cost of potatoes in wholesale markets in Poland during the past month was UAH5.21/kg (USD0.18), while in Ukraine it remained at a steady UAH6.20/kg (USD0.22). According to the expert, in order to meet the challenges of international markets, Ukraine needs to develop a strong, competitive sector of professional production, storage and processing of potatoes. This would allow Ukrainian producers not only to engage in highly efficient production but also to create added value, which will create new jobs and fill the budgets of all levels.

Ukraine's imports of fresh or chilled potatoes in January-August 2020 reached USD51.27m, which is six times more than in the same period of last year, resulting in an increase of 503.15%. In January-August 2020, Ukraine exported USD0.83m worth of potatoes, which is 44.02% less than in the same period last year. This year, Ukraine's top three export countries were Belarus USD417,000), Egypt (USD202,000) and Moldova (USD177,000).