From December 2 to 4, 2025, a technological business tour to Serbia took place for Ukrainian berry producers and processors. The trip was organized by the Ukrainian Berries Association (UBA) with the support of the SIPPO program in Ukraine. This was already the second UBA business trip in 2025 implemented within this cooperation. As a reminder, in May 2025, with SIPPO support, a business mission to the Netherlands was organized.

Five Ukrainian companies participated in the educational technological tour together with representatives of the Association, including:
• Dyvo-Yahoda LLC (Kharkiv region) – a full-cycle farm specializing in the cultivation of raspberries and garden strawberries.
• KB Freeze (Lviv region) – a company specializing in shock freezing and berry processing.
• INSORTEX (Poltava) – an engineering and manufacturing company developing equipment for the berry sector.
• Fresh Berry LLC (Mykolaiv region) – a producer of frozen pitted cherries.
• Goldberry LLC (Kyiv region) – a farm growing strawberries, raspberries, and vegetables.

The participants visited Serbian enterprises specializing in berry cultivation and freezing, primarily raspberries, and also became acquainted with modern cold-processing infrastructure—from small cold storage facilities to plants capable of freezing up to 30% of the country’s total raspberry harvest.

Despite the fact that Ukraine is a direct competitor to Serbia on the global raspberry market, Serbian colleagues demonstrated a high level of openness and willingness to share experience: they conducted detailed tours of production facilities, shared technological solutions, and answered questions from Ukrainian specialists.

The second day of the visit was dedicated to a professional training session at the Institute of Fruit Growing in the city of Čačak.

During the tour, participants highlighted a number of features of the Serbian berry sector, many of which are also characteristic of Ukraine. Raspberries remain the key crop of the processing industry. Summer varieties dominate (about 80%), with Willamette being the most popular, while raspberry harvesting in greenhouses continues until the end of December.

At the same time, producers face an acute labor shortage, the impact of high temperatures, and a reduction in raw material volumes. Almost all raspberries in Serbia are harvested by hand, and the average earnings of pickers in the 2025 season amounted to about EUR 50 per day.

It is also noteworthy that the main suppliers of raw materials for processing remain small household farms with an average area of about 0.1 ha, while large commercial plantations rarely exceed 30 ha. Attempts at large-scale producer cooperation in Serbia have so far failed to deliver the expected results due to different technological approaches and inconsistent berry quality.

Serbian processors also do not rule out that within the next few years they may be forced to import raspberries due to declining domestic production, which opens up new opportunities for international cooperation.

“We are sincerely grateful to our partners for providing an opportunity for our processors to gain new experience through practical case studies. Participants were able to see the entire production chain—from the field to freezing—ask ‘uncomfortable’ questions, and compare approaches used in different countries. For Ukrainian producers and processors, this is an opportunity not to copy, but to consciously adapt solutions that work in a competitive environment and to increase the efficiency of their own businesses. We also hope for further fruitful cooperation with our Swiss partners within the SIPPO import promotion program,”
— Liubov Bilobrukh, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Berries Association.

Ukrainian companies once again confirmed their readiness to develop and implement innovations despite tough competition in the European market and the challenges of wartime conditions.

Participants’ Feedback

Vitalii Vasyliev
Dyvo-Yahoda LLC
“The tour to Serbia made it possible to see different approaches to the production and processing of frozen berries. There are many aspects that differ from Ukrainian technological solutions and which we plan to adapt at our enterprise. It was a very useful learning experience. I thank UBA for its systematic work and for organizing educational and exhibition tours that help Ukrainian producers maintain leading positions in the berry sector.”

Vadym Vasyliev
Dyvo-Yahoda LLC
“The trip to Serbian partners was extremely useful. We gained practical experience and took a fresh look at certain aspects of freezing, which is our core activity. I would like such professional trips to take place more often.”

Maksym Kolosov
Fresh Berry LLC
“We received a lot of information from processing enterprises and the Institute of Fruit Growing. We also saw shortcomings present in Serbian production, so we will focus on these aspects in our own processing and cultivation. Thank you to UBA for this opportunity!”

Roman Vuikiv
KB Freeze
“It was my first time in Serbia. I saw berry processing and freezing technologies, particularly for raspberries, as well as packaging solutions. In many aspects, expectations were even exceeded. For a young company, such thematic tours are an opportunity to accumulate experience more quickly.”

Ruslan Romaniuk
Goldberry LLC
“The trip left many positive impressions. We saw the entire chain—from cultivation to storage and processing of raspberries. Thank you to UBA and the organizers for the opportunity to see the ‘Mecca’ of raspberries from the inside.”

Serhii Kleshchar
INSORTEX
“The tour made it possible to gain deeper insight into berry processing technologies in Serbia. The knowledge and experience gained will help us create equipment that even better meets the needs of our clients.”

Daler Saidov
INSORTEX
“Thanks to UBA, we were able to familiarize ourselves with the organization of berry production in Serbia and exchange experience. Ukrainian producers and our technological solutions are already at a достойному level, and we can offer Serbian partners our own automation solutions.”

Volodymyr Chornobai
Goldberry LLC
“The trip was extremely informative. We visited many processing enterprises and saw modern technological solutions. Ukrainian potential in the coming years has every chance to grow significantly and, in the near future, to surpass the enterprises that hosted us. Thank you to UBA for the organization and professional approach.”

Photo report from the trip – here

The business tour was organized by the Ukrainian Berries Association (UBA) with the support of the Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO), implemented by the Swisscontact Foundation for Technical Cooperation and Development.