The cherry season is beginning in Eastern Europe, in Georgia it is in full swing, and in Central Asia it is already coming to an end. However, mid-June is the period of time when cherries can be found in the wholesale markets of most countries in the region, so, as usual, EastFruit offers an overview of the markets for cherries in different countries of the region.
Uzbekistan
For the second year in a row, cherry farmers in Uzbekistan are facing the consequences of bad weather. Although the 2023 harvest is higher than in 2022, when losses reached 50% of the potential harvest, it is still not as high as in 2021 despite the significant expansion of area devoted to the crop. There are also problems with the size of the cherry fruits.
The price chart below confirms this information – medium-sized cherries are sold at $1.6-1.7 US dollars per kg in bulk, which is on average one and a half times more expensive than the usual level for this period of time.
Usually, at this time, prices for sweet cherries in Uzbekistan continue to fall or reach the bottom, but in 2023 they already started to grow a week ago, which indicates relatively small volume of products left on the market and in the orchards.
At the same time, according to our market analysts in Uzbekistan, large cherries with a size of more than 28mm are a huge rarity in the domestic market and are sold in bulk at prices ranging from $5.25 US dollars and more. Traditionally, large-caliber cherries from Uzbekistan are exported. For the local market, such a product is offered rarely, because countries buying Uzbek cherries usually have higher consumer income levels and can afford to pay a higher price for it.
Tajikistan
“The cherry season is already over. Now farmers are harvesting cherries only in the mountainous regions of Tajikistan, but in a couple of weeks there will be nothing left. The sweet cherry harvest is noticeably lower than in previous years,” says Bakhtiyor Abduvokhidov, FAO International Consultant.
Prices for 26+ caliber cherries are about $2.5 USD per kg – this is the price of an intermediary already on the wholesale market. When delivering for exports, you must also take into account the cost of packaging, which will increase the wholesale price for cherries by another 30 cents to $ 2.8 dollars.
Small cherries in Tajikistan cost in bulk from $1.5 to $2 USD per kg. Those. prices for small cherries in Tajikistan are approximately the same as in Uzbekistan, but large cherries are much cheaper.
The thing is that Tajikistan exports relatively little cherries due to significant logistical difficulties and a low level of infrastructure development. With such complex logistics, it is desirable to cool cherries using hydrocooling, but there is not a single hydrocooling facility for cherries in Tajikistan.
Source: Fresh Plaza