Ukraine, despite its significant potato cultivation volumes, spends over 1 billion UAH each year on the purchase of imported French fries. The main reasons for this situation are cited as the insufficient development of processing infrastructure and a severe shortage of modern vegetable storage facilities, which has been exacerbated this year due to electricity supply issues.
This is reported by Business • Media
“Ukraine practically has no domestic production of frozen French fries, which forces it to import between 20,000 and 30,000 tons of this product annually at an average price of 50 UAH/kg.”
Demand for semi-finished products and new investments in processing
Changing consumer habits in Ukraine are stimulating demand for semi-finished products, particularly potato products with added value. This trend is prompting farming enterprises to change their production approaches. Already, large agricultural enterprises with land banks of over 100 hectares are directing about 80% of their area to special potato varieties intended for the production of chips and starch. Meanwhile, a new deep processing plant specializing in snack production is under construction in the Cherkasy region.
Storage problems and pricing situation
One of the main problems in the industry remains the preservation of the harvest. Potatoes require strict temperature control at 5-6°C. In ordinary household conditions, they can lose up to 12% of moisture, and starch converts to sugar, leading to rapid sprouting and spoilage of the vegetable. This underscores the necessity of creating professional warehouses for harvest storage.
Despite the difficulties, experts predict that this year’s harvest will fully meet domestic demand, and potato prices will remain at last year’s levels. It is worth noting that even considering logistics costs, imported young potatoes sometimes cost less than domestically produced products.