In the 2025 season, Ukrainian gardeners harvested only 60% of the fruit compared to the pre-war period, and fruit storage facilities are half full. Therefore, according to Taras Mynko, head of the “Ukrsadprom” association, consumers should not expect a return to pre-war low prices — the industry would not withstand such a burden.

The main reasons are the lost 2022 season, labor shortages, rising energy costs, and infrastructure destruction. Harvesting 25 hectares requires 250 workers, but many farms are unable to provide even half of this need.

“The main factors driving the increase in fruit prices in recent years have been the cost of energy resources, the lack of personnel, and the cost of labor. There is a lack of people – they are leaving the country,” Mynko emphasized.

Before the war, participants of “Ukrsadprom” had up to 120 thousand tons of cold storage capacity; now it is about 60 thousand tons. Some capacity has been destroyed, some has been shut down, and the apple harvest in certain regions froze out.

Despite the difficulties, Mynko predicts rapid development in the processing industry. A boom in the construction of enterprises specializing in the production of finished fruit products is expected in the next 3–5 years.