Ukraine exports in 2020/2021 MY largest onion volume in eight years – UHA

KYIV. Aug 30 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Ukraine in the 2020/2021 marketing year (MY, July-June) increased onion exports by 1.8 times compared to 2019/2020 MY, to 34,100 tonnes for a total of $6.5 million, its export figures hit a record in the past eight years.

As reported on the website of the Ukrainian Horticultural Association (UHA) on Monday, the record in terms of onion exports since Ukraine’s independence was 2012/2013 MY, when the country exported 54,300 tonnes of onions, which is 1.6 times higher than in 2020/2021 MY.

"The entire previous season, the price of onion in Ukraine remained at a record low level of about $0.09 per kg, while prices in the EU were much higher. Ukraine remained the country with the lowest onion price in the world all season, and the average export price last year was the lowest in four years. This speaks of the ineffectiveness of export efforts and low quality parameters, because Ukrainian vegetable growers are still focused on growing raw materials, and not finished products," Economist of the Investment Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Andriy Yarmak is quoted as saying.

He stressed that due to the lack of systematic export promotion of this vegetable, the growth of its export should not be considered a significant success for Ukraine.

"If onion production in Ukraine was initially guided by EU quality standards, and traders and/or producers were systematically engaged in export promotion, then export could well be a record, and the average price for products would be much higher. According to my estimates, Ukraine was quite capable of exporting more than 100,000 tonnes of onions last season, which would help increase farmers’ incomes by at least 50%," he said in the UHA’s report.

At the same time, the expert called a significant expansion of the geography of Ukrainian onion export in 2020/2021 MY as a positive aspect. According to him, more than half of all onions are exported to the EU countries, mainly to Romania – more than 40% of all European exports.

The Ukrainian Horticultural Association clarified that the largest onion importers in the last MY in the CIS were Belarus, Azerbaijan and Moldova, in the Middle East – Iraq and Turkey, and in Asia – Bangladesh, which for the first time purchased almost 2,000 tonnes of vegetables produced in Ukraine.

According to the association, the first systematic export of Ukrainian onions to African countries is also a positive moment, of which more than 350 tonnes of onions were delivered to Cameroon, 140 tonnes to Sierra Lyon, and several African countries imported 50 tonnes each. These indicators are important for Ukraine, since Africa is the most important sales market for the Netherlands, the world’s largest onion exporter.

"Thus, export of Ukrainian onion turned out to be quite diversified. It would be good to support these distribution channels in the new season, however, so far, the price environment is not ideal for this," the association said.