Dutch-Ukrainian cooperation in fruit and berry sector

Main aspects of cooperation were agreed upon by leading Dutch buyers and Ukrainian producers of fruit and vegetable products as part of a business tour of Ukrainian processors to the Netherlands.

From May 20 to 23, 2025, a business tour to the Kingdom of the Netherlands took place with the participation of Ukrainian small and medium exporters of organic berry products, business support organizations (BSO), organized by the Ukrainian Berries Association (UBA), the State Institution “Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office” (EEPO, Ukraine), and the Organic Initiative Public Union. .

The purpose of the trip was to establish mutually beneficial partnerships between European and Ukrainian companies, study export requirements, and expand the market of suppliers of quality fruit products to the EU.

During four days ten Ukrainian exporters of organic berry products visited leading Dutch companies in the field of growing and distributing fruits and berries, learned the capacities of enterprises, certification requirements, and features of the EU market. It became clear Dutch companies are interested in supplying planting material, equipment and production technologies to Ukraine, which will help improve the quality of Ukrainian products and make them more competitive in world markets.

Some companies are looking at Ukrainian products with the aim of expanding trade partnerships.

Currently, the EU is the largest importer of Ukrainian products in the fresh and processed fruit and berries segment. Therefore, the development of further cooperation with the Dutch sector will not only balance trade, using the strengths of each partner (in particular, innovation and technology in the Netherlands, and cheap labor and opportunities for extension in Ukraine), but will also contribute to increasing European food security, earning capacity for producers and higher quality and safety for consumers.

"Ukrainian fruit and berry products are interesting for EU importers primarily for their quality and pricing policy. Because of industry feature the atomization of many production processes is impossible, so it requires significant human labor, which is much more expensive in the EU than in Ukraine. And the price continues to rise. On the other side, quality of Ukrainian fruits and berries is high.  Therefore, companies from the Netherlands showed a high interest in strengthening cooperation and expanding imports of these products from Ukraine", - noted Iryna Kukhtina, Head of the Ukrainian Berries Association.

Among the enterprises visited by Ukrainian processors are the following:

Fresh Forward BV is a leading breeding company, having as shareholders 4 Dutch nurseries Rapo, De Kemp, Neessen and Van Alphen. The main crop is strawberry. They also do breeding of apple varieties for the fresh market and organic sector. Trial plots are located in the Netherlands, Spain and Ukraine.

Origin & Amsterdam is a one more company visited by Ukrainian farmers. The company has been trading organic products for many years and has a representative office in Ukraine. Main crops which can be interesting for cooperation with UA - strawberries, raspberries, cherries, wild blueberries, rapeseed, soybeans, dried fruits and others.

Sonder Jansen BV – the company has been operating on the Ukrainian market for quite some time and is interested in Ukrainian strawberry (BIO), cherry, raspberry, black and red currants, plum, blueberries (wild).

Helsu Foods – is one of biggest frozen fruit traders in the Netherlands, which has been operating on the Ukrainian market for 20 years.  

Other Dutch companies and organizations visited by the business mission participants include:

BioNext, is Organic Producers’ Association of the Netherlands uniting 2000 organic farmers. This organization has 310 specialized organic shops. According to European Green Deal, there is a target to make the EU agriculture 25% organic by 2030. Close cooperation with UA organic companies can probably help to reach this goal.

ARDO, the company is engaged in trading frozen products - fruits, berries, vegetables. It works with the Private Label model. They have 12 factories producing 15,000 tons/year. Ardo is interested in buying Ukrainian strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, corn, peas, bell pepper, onions.

BidFood - online company, headquartered in South Africa with annual turnover 13 billion Euros. The portfolio includes 60,000 items with 70 types of frozen berries and fruits. There are perspectives for cooperation with Ukrainian companies in small batches through traders.

Tradin Organic - is a large trader of organic products, importing it from all over the world. They have a range of 300 different products dealing with everything from avocados and cocoa beans to fruits and frozen berries; has been working on the Ukrainian market quite some time

To purchase products from emerging countries like Ukraine the company can use organic fund ODF (Organic Development Finance), affordable finance to organic agricultural SME’s to increase organic production and achieve sustainable impact for environment and people. Loan rate there is 8-9%.

Doehler / SVZ - is present on the EU and world market for a long time; has 30 factories in many countries – Belgium, Spain, Egypt, USA. SVZ is operating on Ukrainian market since 2008. Main products are puree, juice concentrates, fruit preparations for yogurts and smoothies.

The main products that are of interest from Ukraine: strawberries (fresh chilled puree, frozen 2 class), raspberries (crumble), blackberries, wild blueberries, rosehips, sour cherry.