Peaches Are Being Brought into Ukraine from Abroad - A Supermarket Price Overview

Ukrainian supermarkets are widely importing peaches from abroad, replacing domestic produce. The reason is outdated varieties and the careless approach of local growers, while peaches remain one of the most popular summer fruits in Ukrainians' diets. Retailers find it more profitable to work with imports because they guarantee a uniform, cooled, and packaged product. Domestic farmers, for the most part, do not invest in varieties and processing, which causes their peaches to rot quickly and be sold for a pittance.

OBOZ.UA spoke about the market situation, conducting its own price monitoring and speaking with the president of the Ukrainian Association of Produce and Vegetables. According to him, peaches and plums are difficult crops to grow, and a shortage of high-quality domestic product is purely a market problem.

“Peach producers, for example in Odesa region, grow the raw material and do not work much with retail. The varieties are mostly old, not long-lasting, some use chemicals to save costs, and they are forced to sell that peach for something, because otherwise in three days it will spoil,” emphasized Taras Bashtannik, president of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association.

According to Bashtannik, most Ukrainian farmers prefer to sell the harvest “for processing,” while imported peaches from Turkey or Greece arrive ready for the supermarket shelf.

“There it is, a closed loop: the producer would be happy to invest, but to do that you need money, and to have money you need to sell something, and it sells at a loss,” Bashtannik noted.

Government support could partially fix the situation—namely grants that orchardists receive to modernize orchards and harvest processing technologies.

The problem of Ukrainian peaches fits into a broader picture of the European stone fruit market. Spain, which traditionally dominates supply of these fruits in the season, is forecast to have one of the largest harvests in years this year, and this import partly shapes the availability on Ukrainian shelves.

Prices for Ukrainian shoppers depend not only on the harvest abroad but also on exchange rates and logistics costs. At the same time, competition between imports and domestic products has not yet benefited Ukrainian farmers, who do not keep up with retailer quality and shelf-life requirements.

Prices for peaches in supermarkets

Let’s compare prices for 1 kg of fresh peaches across networks:

Auchan - 94,90 UAH

Varus - 94,90 UAH

Epicentr - 97,80 UAH

Silpo - 99 UAH

EcoMarket - 99,90 UAH

Metro - 102,96 UAH

Fozzi - 102,99 UAH

Megamarket - 113,50 UAH

Previously Informator wrote about which fruits and berries are especially good for the body—peaches for skin, pears for weight loss, and what other fruits should be included in the diet.

We also wrote about disputes around peach skin: scientists found who should not eat peaches with the skin, and explained why the skin itself is non-toxic despite common myths.

Additionally, Informator wrote about a record harvest of peaches and nectarines in Spain, which could help restrain prices for stone fruits on the Ukrainian market.