EXPORT POTENTIAL OF FRUIT PRODUCTS IN AGRICULTURAL BUSINESS

Introduction. The present-day market of fruit products in Ukraine and in the European Union has been growing now and has a great potential. In this context, the problem of planting and preserving fresh fruit products in Ukraine is relevant, as the demand for them increases every year both in our country and abroad.Problem Statement. Fast freezing, controlled atmosphere and special containers as well as pre-treatment of fruits with chemicals are the priority technologies for the storage of fruit products. These methods extend the shelf life, however they require high financial costs, are harmful to human health and do not address the problem of biological decay.Purpose. The purpose of this research is to assess the agro-industrial potential of Ukraine and to determine the social and economic effect of production of high-quality plums and apricots with extended shelf life due to processing them with film-forming compositions of medicinal plant materials.Material and Methods. The methods of critical and economic analysis have been used to achieve the purpose of this research. The economic effect from the application of the developed method of fruit processing has been analyzed by the efficiency estimate algorithm.Results. The current state of fruit exports has been analyzed. The world trade has benn determined to steadily grow over the last decade. Processing of medicinal and plant raw materials of plum and apricot fruits with filmforming compositions is safe and complies with the rules of European Environmental Safety Directives. The results of calculations have confirmed the improvement of fruit quality and extension of their shelf life.Conclusions. The economic effect is: an increase in the sales by 3,432 thousand tons leads to augmented consumption of these fruit products by 0.20 kg per person annually. The social effect is the availability of highquality environment friendly products at estimated prices and the increase in their consumption.