Due to the closure of Russian markets, as well as the trade blockade of Crimea and Donbass, Ukrainian farmers are suffering colossal losses. Thus, in the Kherson region, almost half of the tomatoes grown were left to rot in the ground.
They will not even be collected due to unprofitability. This is stated in the story of the Ukrainian TV channel “24”.
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TV crews cite as an example the situation on the farm of Kherson farmer Leonid Kirichenko, who sowed 14 hectares of field with tomatoes, but in the end they harvested only seven hectares. At the same time, contracts for the supply of vegetables to Ukrainian supermarkets have already been completed.
“Farmers have planned, the crop rotation project is planned for 5-7 years. That is, we did not reduce the area, but did not take into account the fact that we would lose 20-30 percent of the Ukrainian market, and, to some extent, also the neighboring countries. It is clear that there will be losses. By taking out a loan, mortgaging a house or a car, you have sown money, and the result may be negative,” Kirichenko said.
The European Union also does not expect Ukrainian tomatoes, since there are enough of their own producers, assures agricultural expert Nikolai Khalupenko: “Firstly, they have very good tomatoes – Spain, Italy, Hungary. Secondly, we are not a member of the European Union, where all this is subject to quotas, and thirdly, there is also a problem here with packaging and the ability to deliver goods. We don’t have enough experience or marketing.”