Ukrainian berry growing is powerful, promising and profitable! This was evidenced by the results of the V International Scientific and Practical Conference "Berry and Processing: Technologies and Innovations"

15.12.2021, 08:53

The V International Scientific and Practical Conference "Berry and Processing: Technologies and Innovations" was held with incredible success on December 9-10 in Kyiv, in the hotel and restaurant complex "Verkhovyna". The conference broke all records and became the largest berry event in Ukraine, gathering more than 400 participants from Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Poland, the Netherlands, Italy, France and others. The conference program includes speeches by experts, roundtable discussions on intellectual property issues. There were also incredible number of exhibitors who took part in the exhibition of equipment, machinery and technologies for the berry industry - more than 50! Here, those interested could taste the products of Ukrainian producers, in particular, wines, berry drinks, freeze-dried and other processed products. For the first time during the conference the International Congress on Freezing and Cold Logistics of Berries was held.

Ukrainian berry growing today is at the stage of active rise, and it is gradually declaring itself to the whole world. And we, as organizers, consider our mission to promote its prosperity, introduction of new innovative technologies, increase yields and quality of your products! .. So, you will study the materials of this conference for several months, because the program - a sea of ideas for your business Kateryna KONIEVA, the founder of the Technologies and Innovations media group said in her introductory speech.

Andriy KRAVCHENKO, Deputy Director of the Department of Agrarian Development of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, made a welcoming speech, noting that in 2021 about 297 business entities used state support for the creation of plantations. The total area of fruit and berry plantations planted in 2021 is over 2,200 hectares, of which almost 1,000 hectares are berries.

The honorary guests of the conference were a delegation from the Netherlands led by Reinaud NAUTEN, Counselor for Agriculture at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine. He noted that cooperation between the berry sectors of Ukraine and the Netherlands is very strong.

- The Netherlands is not only a country to which Ukrainian farmers export berries. A large amount of planting material and technologies for storing and processing berries comes to Ukraine from the Netherlands. These technologies help to make berry growing more successful and at the same time safe for the environment.

At the beginning of the conference day there was a round table discussion on "Berry brands of Ukraine and intellectual property". The discussion was moderated by Veronika BEREZANSKA, Head of the Advertising and Public Relations Department of Pakharenko & Partners, General Legal Partner of the conference. The meeting was attended by Oleg NAUMENKO, owner of "Big Berries" (TM Big BLUE) and Eugene HARLAN, owner of "Nikdaria" (TM iBerry).

How to create a successful berry business: technologies and innovations

The world market for berry consumption is growing dynamically. This was proved in his speech by Doctor of Economics, Professor, Institute of Agrarian Economics of NAAS of Ukraine Yuriy PASICHNYK. According to the scientist, in 2000 the consumption of berries amounted to 5.7 million tons, in 2017 - 13.4 million tons, in 2020 - 15.4 million tons. Accordingly, export supplies are growing, which in 2000 amounted to 0.6 million tons, in 2017 - 1.8 million tons and approximately 2.1 million tons in 2020, which is a favorable trend for Ukrainian producers and exporters of berries, which are increasingly "conquering" world markets. In 2017, $ 66.5 million worth of berries were exported. USA, in the 2020-2021 marketing year - by 238 million dollars. USA.

Large volumes of cultivated products require quality care, including protection. Igor TARUSHKIN, a specialist in marketing of preparations for the protection of special crops of Bayer-Ukraine, the General Partner of the Conference on Plant Protection Products, dedicated this report to this topic. The specialist presented to the conference participants the latest achievements of the company for berries and announced further developments that are guaranteed to increase yields and quality characteristics of berry products.

Oleh DUBINA, Development Director of RODONIT, Maria PANAS, Product Manager of Timac Agro Ukraine, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, Head of the Expert Department of BTU-CENTER Volodymyr SILENKO told the conference participants about innovative plant protection products. Oleksandr BYKIVSKY, a consultant in horticulture and berry growing at Agritema, emphasized the use of biological products and biostimulants to alleviate abiotic stresses in berry production. Artur SIZHUK, an agronomist at Biochim Agro, analyzed the most controversial issues in the nutrition of tall blueberries. Olena BOLTOVSKA, Rosana Biological Solutions project manager, spoke about useful biological organisms in the berry growing system.

The conference participants also learned about the quality of watering berry crops. Vadym BOYKO, Director of ProfPoliv, Exclusive Technological Partner of the Conference, dedicated his report to this topic. pipelines, etc. This is a key point that unleashes the potential of an automated system.

The founder of Rosetta Agro, the main technological partner of the conference, Frederica VOGEL and the director of Rosetta Agro Valery LYASHYNSKY noted that the berry market is changing and producers must constantly monitor the changes to develop their development strategy. Blueberry production is increasing in Ukraine. But at the same time, according to the expert, it is necessary to increase the share in the international market. After all, many countries have increased blueberry production, so you need to be competitive.

Oleh BAZYUK, director of the in-vitro nursery Dolyna Agro, spoke about the basic principles of blueberry berry planting and care, as well as about favorable soil conditions for this crop, the choice of variety, major diseases and pests.
Oleksandr YARESHCHENKO, Deputy Director for Research at the Institute of Horticulture of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, well-known breeder, presented the latest varieties of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, actinidia and other berry crops to the audience. Igor PASHCHUK, a representative of In-Vitro Kusibab, spoke about new varieties of blueberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and irga. Taras MASLOVATY, a representative of FruTech, dedicated the report to the topic of modern raspberry varieties suitable for industrial cultivation in Ukraine.
Roman VOROZHBYT, a representative of the well-known Polish company Haygrove, spoke about new types of tunnels for growing berries, which are guaranteed to significantly increase yields.

The speakers highlighted a number of important issues - from the planting of plantations, the choice of seedlings - to the sorting of products, their storage and sale in Ukrainian and foreign retail chains.

Adriana DUNDA, Sales Manager of the Italian company UNITEC, spoke about new trends in berry sorting and presented new UNITEC sorting equipment that can check the quality of the fruit outside and inside, as well as detect defects in shape, cryptographic size and color.

Natalia ZELENSKA, Business Development Manager of Tolsma Technik LLC, the main technological partner of the conference, focused on increasing opportunities through Elifab optical sorting. Elifab equipment sorts berries with an accuracy of 98% by color and size and with an accuracy of 96% by defects. Also, the sorting machine takes photos of each berry. This guarantees the most delicate sorting of berries.
Implementation Specialist GlobalG.A.P. Igor Chechitko, informed about the pros and cons of certification for farmers. Among the advantages of certification - safety and quality of products, expanding their market and the ability to reach the export level.

Successful experience of growing berry crops from farms and companies

A feature of the conferences of the media group "Technologies and Innovations" is to highlight the best practices of growing different crops from experienced companies. Yes, and this time the speakers shared their unique experience of growing blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. In particular, agronomist Iryna PAVLOVA and owner of Sonyushko FG Oleksiy MINENKO highlighted the Belarusian experience of growing remontant varieties of garden strawberries on tables in tunnels.

Andriy SHVYNDYUK, director of SAV AGRO PARTNER LLC, shared his experience of growing garden strawberries in the open ground.

Iryna BARZO, a participant in the BestAgro project and co-founder of the Yagidna storona jyttia initiative, has published her own life hacks on how to optimize the costs of a berry plantation.

Director of Dyvo Yagoda LLC Vitaliy VASYLIEV shared his experience of growing raspberries in eastern Ukraine, in Kharkiv region.

And the founder of the company "Organichnyi Sad" (TM Stynava) Bohdan Bodnar surprised with a story about the only high-altitude plantation in Ukraine blueberry and features of care for this berry.

The conference brought together more than 50 partner companies, including foreign ones (Italy, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland). Advanced technologies, equipment for berry growing, etc. were presented by BAYER, ProfPoliv, Rosetta Agro, UNITEC, POLSKA BOROWKA, Agritema, EFT-group, Biochim Agro, Rodonit, BTU CENTER, PIGO, Rusbana, Ramos, Agron, Makita and others. In particular, Makita Ukraine presented a cordless secateurs at the exhibition, which speeds up pruning several times.

Congress on freezing and cold logistics of berries

For the first time in the conference a congress on freezing and cold logistics of berries "Processing and freezing. Creating added value by processing berries: different businesses - different opportunities. The event was attended by owners and directors of refrigeration and freezing complexes, experts, exporters, representatives of logistics companies, companies offering technology, equipment for freezing, processing, berries that have their own freezing facilities or those who plan to build a successful business on freezing of fruit and berry products.

Tetyana SMIRNOVA, Communications Manager of the Ukrainian Berry Association, the Main Sectoral Partner of the conference, spoke about the possibilities of exporting to the EU for frozen berry producers. According to the expert, Ukraine ranks 5th among suppliers of frozen berries. However, Ukraine`s share is 5% of total imports of frozen berries and fruits to the EU. Therefore, Ukrainian producers have room for growth.

President of the Ukrainian Fruit and Vegetable Association (UPOA) Taras Bashtannyk analyzed the frozen berries market in Ukraine and spoke about the change in vectors in 2021/22 and the results of the 2021 season. at least in the summer - in early autumn 2022, will be expensive, then during the season may be a slight reduction in price and a significant reduction in 2023. According to the expert, the market of frozen garden strawberries is not promising, and there will be a shortage of products on the domestic and world market of frozen currants for at least another 2 years (2022-2023). That is, Ukrainian frozen berries can and will be in demand in world markets.

As Vasyl MARTYUK, Director of the Continental Farmers Group Charitable Foundation, emphasized in his speech, the real way out for berry growers is cooperation, which is successfully used in the construction of freezers. There are few cooperatives in Ukraine - almost 1,000. Half of them are functioning. There are only 20-30 berry cooperatives among them. According to Vasyl Martyuk, working in a cooperative has a number of advantages. These are, in particular, reduction of costs (wholesale purchases of means of production, PPE, etc.; purchase / lease for shared use of machinery / equipment; maintenance at lower rates), increase revenue (sales of large batches on better terms), as well as additional bonuses professional management and marketing, training, exchange of experience, lobbying the interests of producers, the opportunity to participate in government / grant programs).

Representatives of well-known Ukrainian and foreign companies spoke at the congress on freezing and cold logistics of berries, presenting modern technological solutions for freezing and processing products. Among them are OctoFrost Group Territorial Sales Manager for Eastern Europe Anna DIC, UNIDEX Representative Natalia PAZDZIOR-MENDALKA, PIGO Representative in Ukraine Olga ROMAN. Congress participants learned how innovative IQF technology can reduce costs and make the berry processing business more profitable, what are the features of raspberry freezing in the Unidex fluidization tunnel, why lyophilization and freezing are the technologies of the future.
Serhiy STETSENKO (TM PanFruit Ukraine), co-founder of Dykansky Yahody, spoke about the sublimation of berries and the corresponding export strategy.

How to choose refrigeration equipment and what details you need to pay attention to during this - said the representative of the company "4 styhii" Alexander Sheiko. Ivan KOTYASH, the founder of Malyn Fectori, spoke about the organization of the refrigerator fleet and the investment vision for the construction of freezer warehouses. Yulia Tymoshenko, Tiferet project manager, analyzed the main problems that arise during the freezing process.
At the end of the congress, the speakers raised the issue of berry processing. In particular, Andriy HALYAS, Director of Berry Trade LLC, Serhiy STETSENKO, Co-Founder of Dykansky Yahody (TM PanFrut Ukraine), spoke about the ways of berry processing. Igor Bondarchuk, the founder of Bondarchuk Winery, shared his experience in berry wine production.

The first congress on freezing and cold logistics of berries aroused great interest of the audience. The participants of the congress were convinced that freezing is an extremely promising area of the berry business.

Lottery drawing from the conference partners

The traditional part of the events of the media group "Technology and Innovation" - a lottery from the conference partners. This time gifts were given by such companies as Bayer-Ukraine, Ceres Ukraine, Bondarchuk Winery, Biochim Agro, ProfPoliv, Grand Logistic Company, Plastmodern, Makita, Arta Himgroup, FG Gas ",Supergarden, MIT. Among the gifts, several conference participants received certificates for the annual subscription to the magazines of the media group "Technologies and Innovations".

The V International Scientific and Practical Conference "Berry and Processing: Technologies and Innovations", organized by the media group " Technologies and Innovations ", proved that Ukrainian berry growing is reaching a new level of development and is now successfully competing with berry growing in the most developed countries. on the world market. The event proved to be extremely effective. Participating companies directly in the exhibition hall of the conference signed lucrative agreements, signed contracts. Undoubtedly, this conference will be a new impetus for the further development of the berry business in Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.

- It is difficult to overestimate the baggage of knowledge that we receive every time at the berry conference. After all, we attend this event every year. We thank the organizers, the media group "Technology and Innovation", - shared his impressions Mykola OSTROVSKY ( "Yahidnyi rai" SOK , Khmelnytsky region).

Business tour to the leading berry and processing enterprises

On December 10, the second day of the conference, more than 250 people visited two large berry and processing enterprises in the region - Nikdaria (iBerry) and SVK Yagidki (TM Big BLUE).

First, the participants of the business tour visited the Nikdaria company and saw how blueberries are grown on the 100-hectare plantation. The guests also got acquainted with the work of the refrigerator, modern sorting and packaging lines.

After that, the participants of the business tour visited the company SVK Yagidki (TM Big BLUE), where an experienced agronomist Igor Lutsko held a master class on pruning blueberries. And Vadym BOYKO, director of ProfPoliv, told about the work of the fertigation system installed at the Yahidky agricultural cooperative, as well as about the accumulation pool.

In addition, Yahidky Agricultural Cooperative together with ProfPoliv prepared a holiday cake with the logo of the Technology and Innovation media group, which the participants of the business tour tasted at the end of the day.
Read more information on the conference materials in the magazine "Berryfield", on the sites jagodnik.info, techhorticulture.com, forum.techdrinks.info, as well as on the Facebook pages of the media group ("Berryfield", "Horticulture and Viticulture").

The next conference "Berry growing and processing: technologies and innovations" will take place on April 14-15 (Rivne region with a business tour of berry and processing farms in Volyn). The event will be dedicated to strawberries, raspberries and niche crops - actinidia, irza and more.
We invite you to participate and partner!