The Iraqi market has become increasingly important for Ukrainian growers in recent months.
According to EastFruit, in February 2024, Iraq became the fourth largest buyer of fresh Ukrainian apples after the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan. Ukrainian exporters sent nearly 500 tons of apples to this country in February alone. Since the beginning of the 2023/24 season, Iraq has imported almost 2,000 tons of apples from Ukraine.
"The absence of European nations among Ukraine’s top five apple importers is noteworthy. Despite the ongoing conflict with Russia, Ukrainian farmers continue to cultivate apples of exceptional quality. The transit times for apple shipments have markedly increased since February 24, 2022. Consequently, only apples of the finest quality, which also command a higher price, can be considered for export, given the increased costs, risks, and longer transit times," says Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Investment Department.
For Iraq, Ukraine is the third largest supplier of apples, trailing only Iran and Turkey in terms of volume of shipments. At the same time, in February 2024, Ukraine exported fresh apples in large volumes to 22 countries worldwide.
Experts note that two large batches of apples were even exported to Italy in February, which became the world leader in apple exports in the previous season.
