For the 2015/16 season, Ukrainian AJC (apple juice concentrate) exports have fallen to a 4-year low. The export volumes totaled 65,200 tons in July 2015 – April 2016, a decrease of 25% year-on-year.
According to Fruit-Inform, market analysts connect the negative trend in AJC exports with lower production in Ukraine. Many Ukrainian canning factories were forced to reduce their AJC manufacturing volumes due to a significant rise in prices of raw apples. At the end of the 2015 procurement season, prices of apples for processing averaged UAH 3.50/kg (EUR 0.14/kg) in Ukraine against the usual level of UAH 1.50/kg.
