Ukraine imports over $100 mln worth of vegetables used for so-called borsch set in H1 2023
MOSCOW. July 11 (Interfax) - Ukraine imported vegetables used for the so-called borsch set, in particular, potatoes, carrots, sugar beets, cabbage and onions, for $100.253 million between January and June 2023.
As Ukrainian media reported, in accordance with the statistics published by the State Customs Service on Monday, Ukraine imported 12.476 tonnes of potatoes worth $8.641 million in the first six months of 2023.
At the same time, Greece accounted for 27.29% of the market share of imported potatoes in H1 this year and managed to earn $2.23 million from its sales. The potato supplies from Romania accounted for 12.66% worth $1.034 million, while those from Azerbaijan accounted for 9.67% and $970,000, respectively.
Ukraine had to import the entire so-called borsch set of vegetables amid the shortest supply in terms of vegetables in H1 2023. In particular, purchases of onions on foreign markets reached 0.16% of the country's total imports, cabbage - 0.09%, carrots and sugar beets - 0.06%. In total, market operators spent $93.882 million to purchase these basic vegetables in the diet of Ukrainians (excluding potatoes).
The top three leading suppliers of vegetables of the borsch set group included importers from Poland and the Netherlands. They accounted for 43.5% and 31.6% of Ukraine's onion imports, which amounted to $12.393 million and $8.949 million, respectively. The top three suppliers of onions were closed by China with 8.3% of supplies worth $2.346 million.
The leading supplier of cabbage to Ukraine was Poland, whose share in supplies reached 32% and brought the neighboring country $9.147 million, followed by Macedonia with 31.6%, for which it earned $9.034 million, and the Netherlands with 10.8% and $3.093 million, respectively.
Poland also turned out to be one of the leading suppliers of root vegetables, including carrots, beetroots and celery, in H1 2023. The share of imports of these vegetables in the domestic market reached 46.9%, which totaled $11.072 million in monetary terms. The best suppliers of these vegetables were the Netherlands and Turkey, whose supplies accounted for 37.7% and 2.9% of the import share, which totaled $8.899 million and $683,000 in monetary terms, respectively.
The vegetables most in demand in the winter and springtime in Ukraine are tomatoes and cucumbers. Ukraine imported in H1 2023 0.29% of the country's total tomatoes import and 0.07% of cucumbers, which amounted to 73,050 tonnes and 28,182 tonnes, respectively.
The leading supplier of these vegetables to Ukraine was Turkey, which accounted for 77.4% of total imports of tomatoes and 46.8% of cucumbers between January and June 2023, which totaled $45.5 million and $12.87 million in monetary terms, respectively.
The top three suppliers of tomatoes to Ukraine included Poland, which accounted for 20.37% of deliveries worth $12.989 million, and the Netherlands with 2.99% of deliveries worth $1.9 million.
Along with Turkey, Ukraine purchased cucumbers in H1 2023 from Romania, which fulfilled 35.33% of supplies worth $9.714 million, and Poland with 11.3% worth $3.106 million, respectively.
Despite the shortage of vegetables in the country, Ukrainian agricultural producers managed to export their small supplies.
Ukrainian potatoes are prohibited from being supplied to the European market due to legislation not adapted to European requirements. Ukraine did not lose its traditional sales markets and managed to earn $11.251 million by exporting 19.854 tonnes of potatoes, of which 50.7% were shipped to Bulgaria, 39.7% to Azerbaijan, and 9.05% to Moldova.
Cabbage exports from Ukraine reached 871 tonnes, of which 98% were shipped to Bulgaria. Deliveries of onions, carrots and sugar beets to foreign markets were almost not performed in H1 2023.
The sale of 781 tonnes of cucumbers on foreign markets yielded $1.905 million for Ukraine. The traditional buyer of greenhouse cucumbers is Poland, where in H1 2023, 96% of all exports of this vegetable were made, and the Baltic States, in particular, 3% of Ukraine's exported cucumbers were delivered to Lithuania.
Ukrainian farmers earned $463,000 for the export of 120 tonnes of greenhouse tomatoes, 86.5% of which were purchased by Poland and 12.4% by Estonia.