This season, apple imports to Ukraine were the smallest since independence, according to EastFruit industry experts, based on official statistics.

During 8 months of the season from July to February 2019, Ukrainian wholesalers purchased about 600 tons of apples abroad. For the same period of the 2017-2018 marketing year, Ukraine purchased about 2.5 thousand tons of these fruits on the foreign market.

Imported apples mainly came from Poland, as well as the Netherlands and Italy. According to experts, the current situation with apple imports is quite natural, in view of the impressive harvest of local fruits in 2018, which are offered at very affordable prices. Recall that the apple crop in 2018 amounted to a record 1.4 million tons.

Despite the abundance of domestic apples at very attractive prices, Ukrainians increasingly prefer bananas and citrus fruits. During the period from September to February, Ukraine imported about 140 thousand bananas and 265 thousand tons of citrus fruits. This exceeds the import figures for the same period last year. At the same time, the consumption of fresh vegetables and berries is growing out of season.