Author Archives: CrispConsulting

Turkish ban reduced quality of fruit and vegetables in Russia

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The quality of fruits and vegetables in Russian stores has allegedly deteriorated after the introduction of the product embargo on Turkey, according to a study of the investment bank Morgan Stanley, which has studied the impact of a possible lifting of the sanctions against Turkey.

“We visited some federal and regional chains to look at the quality of the fruit and vegetables on offer. While the stores we visited may not be a representative sample, our experience revealed a decline in the quality of fresh fruits and vegetables,” says the report.

The Morgan Stanley study draws attention to the fact that, after the imposition of the embargo on some Turkish fruit and vegetables, Russian retail chains have switched to imports of fruit and vegetables from countries of North Africa and the Middle East. This, according to investment bank analysts, led to a loss of quality and a rise in the price of these products.

Analysts say that the blame is unlikely of retailers. “Russia had to switch to suppliers of North Africa and the Middle East, such as Egypt, Morocco, Israel or Algeria, to replace products which are usually imported from Turkey (tomatoes, peppers, peaches, citrus, etc.). This suggests long delivery distances, which often leads to lower quality, and sometimes to, higher prices,” said Morgan Stanley.

“If Russia does not lift the ban on the import of fruits and vegetables from Turkey and continues importing them from North Africa and the Middle East, the quality may deteriorate further and prices could become even higher,” concluded the study.

Morgan Stanley also predicted that the lifting of the embargo on Turkish products would not strongly affect the level of inflation in Russia. Earlier, a similar forecast was made by the Economic Development Ministry.

Lastly, Morgan Stanley analysts noted that given the significant devaluation of the rouble, which has led to higher prices for imported goods, Russian consumers have started buying less fresh vegetables and fruits, especially imported. In the annual survey which Morgan Stanley conducted in February 2016, 30% of respondents admitted that they were less likely to make purchases in supermarkets; a third of respondents admitted they were more likely to buy the agricultural products in the markets, while more than 20% have started to grow their own vegetables and fruit and about 10% share products with friends and family.

www.freshplaza.com

7,500 tonnes of products destroyed by Russia since August last year

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Over the past year, Russian authorities have destroyed a total of 7,282 tonnes of vegetable products and 228 tonnes of animal products banned for import into the country.

According to the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, the plant products most frequently subjected to destruction are pears, apples, peaches, peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, nectarines, grapes, strawberries and oranges.

The Russian embargo, forbidding the supply of food from Western countries, namely the US, EU, Canada, Australia and Norway, has already been in force since 7 August 2014, but in 2015, the Russian government decided to deal with the issue in a more severe way. The destruction of products from Western countries affected by the ban started on 6 August 2015 by decree of President Vladimir Putin. The disposal of such products is permitted to be carried out “in any way possible.”

The Kremlin renewed the period in which illegally imported products can be destroyed to 31 December 2017.

www.freshplaza.com

AgroFoodDrinkTech Expo Georgia 2016

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AgroFoodDrinkTech Expo

November 30 – December 2, 2016

118 Tsereteli Ave. 0119, Tbilisi, Georgia

AgroFoodDrinkTech Expo, 16th international exhibition for agricultural, food and drink products, packaging and processing equipment. Event provides ideal opportunity for the providers of the agricultural products, technologies and services to meet with Georgian farmers, enterprises and state representatives, exchange valuable information and negotiate agreements.

The aim of exhibition is to introduce consumer to various products and services, connect with each other variety of businesses, which get better chance to succeed in the future as a result of these partnerships, also to introduce Georgian market to foreign officials, who are looking for partners for the distribution of their products in Georgia.

For more information see www.agroexpo.ge

WorldFood Kazakhstan 2016

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WorldFood Kazakhstan 

November 2-4, 2016

Atakent exhibition center, pavilions 9, 10 and 11, 42, Timiriazev St., Almaty, Kazakhstan

WorldFood Kazakhstan is a wide-ranging exhibition, showcasing the very best products on Kazakhstan’s food and drink market. The event has become a major meeting place for the industry, welcoming thousands of visitors from Kazakhstan and the wider Central Asian region.

WorldFood Kazakhstan has proved an effective forum for promoting new products, discovering more about the local market and meeting professionals within the industry, including producers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers and restaurateurs.

For more information see: www.worldfood.kz

Indagra Food Romania 2016

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  Indagra Food

  November 2-6, 2016

  Romexpo, Bucharest, Romania

Indagra Food – International trade fair for the food industry – represents the most important advertising platform for the companies in this field. It represents an efficient networking and information platform, the ideal framework for presenting novelties, products and services in the food industry and establishing new business contacts and contracts.

Indagra Food 2016 is organized at the same time with other two fairs of complementary thematic: Indagra – International trade fair of equipment and products in agriculture, horticulture, viticulture and animal husbandry and EXPO DRINK & WINE – Wines, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages trade show.

For more information see www.indagra-food.ro

PIR 2016

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  PIR. Hospitality Industry

  October 17-20, 2016

  Crocus Expo, Moscow

The ‘PIR. Hospitality Industry’ trade fair is the main exhibition project in the HoReCa segment in Russia and CIS.

Each year it becomes a meeting place for restaurateurs and hoteliers, chefs and confectioners, suppliers, investors, journalists and all those willing to keep up with the latest trends of the hotel and catering business.

Organizer: PIR Information project supported by the Restaurateurs and Hoteliers Federation as well as the National Chefs’ Guild.

More than 800 companies from 20 countries exhibit at the show. There are more than 45 000 visitors each year.

For more information see www.pirexpo.com

WorldFood Moscow 2016

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WorldFood Moscow

September 12-15, 2016

Expocentre, Moscow

World Food Moscow is the leading international exhibition for food products in Russia.

Over the last 20 years, WorldFood Moscow has grown to become a major meeting place for the food and drinks industry and a vibrant source of productsfor the Russian market. Exhibitors are grouped in nine main sectors, ensuring visitors can easily find products of interest, compare them and talk to their manufacturers.

Each year, more than 50,000 specialists from various countries visit the exhibition. WorldFood Moscow attracts much interest from Russian specialists, including representatives of wholesale and retail companies from 43 cities.

69 countries are represented at the exhibition. International producers account for over 40% of all exhibitors at WorldFood Moscow. A significant part of the exhibition is taken up by the national pavilions of individual countries.

For more information see www.world-food.ru

Russian ban alarms Bosnia fruit producers

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Bosnian fruit and vegetable producers stand to lose millions of euros after Russia slapped a temporary ban on imports of such items from Bosnia, citing concerns about safety. Bosnian fruit and vegetable producers fear major losses after Russia introduced a temporary ban on such imports from Bosnia from August 4.

“If the blockade remains in force in the following months, this will do incredible damage to our producers,” Dragoja Dojcinovic, president of the association of fruit producers of Republika Srpska, Bosnia’s Serb-dominated entity, told BIRN. “This is a crucial period, as the farmers are starting the harvest,” Dojcinovic pointed out, noting that spring was already hard for producers in the entity and that “many [farmers] had already signed contracts with Russia on exporting their produce.”

From August 4, Rosselkhoznadzor, Russian  introduced temporary restrictions on the import of “high phytosanitary risk products” to Russia from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Importing products from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Russia via third countries is also not allowed. Goods shipped before August 4 may be allowed to be imported after “supervisory measures and laboratory investigations”.

Rosselkhoznadzor explained that the volume of quarantined products imported into Russia from Bosnia and Herzegovina had increased. However, Russia was not provided with information about the country’s quarantine system and phytosanitary control measures. Moreover, the management of Plant Protection at Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations refused to accept a Russian delegation to familiarise them with the system.

In July, Russian experts from the Center for the Development of Entrepreneurship in St Petersburg had warned that export certificates for the EU market are not valid for Russia, Bosnian business website Capital reported. Bosnia’s Ministry of Foreign Trade declined to comment to BIRN on the decision of the Russian authorities.

A long-term ban would be a major blow for the agricultural sector in Bosnia, which in the past two years started exporting massively to the Russian market, taking advantage of the sanctions introduced by the EU against Moscow in 2014 in connection with Ukraine. According to the Bosnian Chamber of Foreign trade, the value of exports to Russia of fruits and vegetables, especially apples, pears, grapes, cabbages and tomatoes, grew from 3 million euros in 2014 to 11.8 million euros in 2015. In the first six months of this year alone, the value of this trade reached 10 million euros.

“If the ban is not lifted, agricultural producers in Bosnia could lose up to 25 million euros, which would be a great loss,” Amila Sehic, an expert at the Bosnian Chamber of Commerce, told. Vladimir Blagojevic, spokesperson of the Chamber of Commerce of Republika Srpska, agreed. “Exports from the RS to Russia have grown constantly in past years,” Blagojevic stated, noting that fruits are one of the most important products that the entity sells to Russia. “If this ban remains in force, it will be a major loss for many here in the RS,” he said.

www.balkaninsight.com, www.freshplaza.com

Russians increasingly prefer buying fresh produce at the market

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More than half of Russians trust the quality of fresh products sold in markets; at the same time, more and more Russians are losing trust in large chains and are switching to smaller stores, as revealed by the Nielsen report “The Russian consumer in the new economic conditions.”

Some 70% of Russian respondents believe that markets have a wider selection of fresh produce, while every second Russian believes that prices in the markets are lower than in chain stores.

Among fresh vegetables, the most popular in the baskets of consumers are cucumbers (92%) and tomatoes (91%), as well as potatoes and onions (79%). As for fruit, the most purchased are apples (81%), bananas (78%), lemons (56%) and peaches (49%). Seasonal berries were bought by 50% of respondents. Among them, the most popular are cherries, followed by strawberries and raspberries.

In terms of volume, Russians are reported to have reduced their purchases, with price increases as the main cause. During the survey period, every third Russian (33%) bought less fresh vegetables than last year. Approximately 57% bought them in the same quantities as last year, and 16% said they were buying less fresh vegetables, or even stopped buying them altogether, because they were growing them in their own garden. 15% of respondents complained about the quality of agricultural products.

“The opinion that fresh products at the market are better than those in supermarkets is largely due to the fact that their suppliers are national companies or companies from neighbouring countries, so goods are believed to gain in freshness and safety in the eyes of consumers,” states Marina Jerskowa, manager of the department evaluating the effectiveness of sales and marketing communications at Nielsen Russia.

www.freshplaza.com