Author Archives: CrispConsulting

Russia Postpones GMO Registration By Three Years

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A state registration for genetically modified organisms (GMOs), initially planned to begin July 1, 2014, has been postponed for three years, according to earlier media reports.

There are complications involving the lack of generally accepted and approved expert methods for determining and defining which produce should be defined as a GMO product.

“State registration of such organisms is possible only after comprehensive examinations. And developing appropriate methods, taking into account advanced science and international experience, and equipping the laboratories of expert organizations requires a long time,” as reported by the Cabinet’s press service.

It was namely these circumstances that led to the postponement of the mandatory registration. The deadline is now July 1, 2017.

www.fruitnews.info

Kubanskiy Vineyards Plan To Collect Around 200,000 Tonnes Of Grapes

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Oleg Tolmachev, head of the department of viticulture, wine and spirits industry of the Krasnodar Region, announced that the area expects to collect about 200,000 tonnes of grapes this year, flat on the year.

“I have every reason to say that the prognosis is very positive. We expect to surpass the average annual harvest of grapes, which has occurred over the last ten years. Although, of course, a lot will depend on the weather this summer,” Tolmachev said, as quoted by the publication Interfax.

A Kuban official also noted that the grapes planted this winter survived without any damage.

“Today the grapes only just started to spring up, and flowering went well. And if we are to look at the whole picture, we expect to collect in the range of 200, 000 tonnes of ‘amber’ Fruit – at the same level as last year, which was a very successful year and an above average long-term performance,” Tolachev added.

www.fruitnews.info

Metro could restart Russia IPO preparations in September

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German retailer Metro could restart preparations in September for the stock market listing of a quarter of its Russian cash-and-carry wholesale operation that it postponed due to the Ukraine crisis, sources close to the matter said.

Company and financial sources said relaunching the initial public offering – which had been expected to fetch at least 1 billion euros – would depend on developments in Ukraine and the level of the Russian rouble.

Metro, which wants to use the proceeds to invest in the fast-growing Russian business and other emerging markets and pay down debt, decided in March to delay the stock market listing due to market turmoil over Ukraine.

Metro declined to comment but Chief Executive Olaf Koch has said in the past the planned IPO had been well received by investors and should still proceed if the turmoil on Russian markets abated.

Metro is Russia’s fourth-biggest retailer behind X5, Magnit and French chain Auchan. Its Russian unit made a quarter of Metro’s group operating profit in 2013 with sales of about $5 billion, some 9 percent of Metro’s total.

www.freshplaza.com

Tyumen region to build greenhouse for 2.2 billion Roubles

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The Tyumen branch of one of Russia’s banks is funding the construction of the largest greenhouse complex for growing vegetables in the region. According to the press service of the Tyumen government, the project, initiated by the company Technology Hothouse Growth LLC, will make use of the latest high-tech Dutch greenhouse technology. The first stage is scheduled for September 2014 and it will enable Tyumen to increase the volumes and quality of its greenhouse production.

The complex will be located 38 kilometres from Tyumen, in the village of Narimanovo, and has an area of 11 hectares, of which 7.5 hectares will be devoted to cucumbers, 2.5 hectares for tomatoes and 1 hectare for lettuce and seedlings. The project budget is of more than 2.2 billion Roubles, of which 1.9 billion will be loaned by banks.

“This ambitious project is very significant for the Tyumen region, as not only will it permit the uninterrupted supply of vegetables for the area, but will also create more than 180 jobs,” said the director of the Tyumen regional branch of the bank funding the project, Dmitry Pushkarev.

www.freshplaza.com

Russia plans to expand vinery areas

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In Kuban Abrau-Durso a meeting session took place on May 27th where Dmitry Medvedev encharged the Government with a task to develop and to launch a campaign for Russian winegrowing upholding and development.

Also the ministry said in the official comment that they had come to a decision to actualize government upholding actions towards grape production, scientific researches in this sphere, and to increase the square of vineries up to 140 000 hectares by 2020.

www.fruitnews.ru

Perekrestok To Drastically Change Appearance

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The network of chain stores Perekrestok is getting a new look, as reported by Vedomosti, quoting Janusz Lella, the general director of the company.

Lella said, according to the publication, that the need to change the way the company appeals to consumers came about because of its low financial performance.

In the future, Perekrestok is looking at changing the use of its staff, changing its logo and revising its pricing policy.

“The supermarkets are changing their logo and color scheme, reorganizing their assortment, it will be newly organized as well as the retail space in the stores, in addition to a revised personnel policy,” he said.

During the first quarter of this year, the network reached a revenue of 28.7 billion rubles ( about $833 million ), and the group of companies reached 144 billion rubles ( about $4,18 billion ). Perekrestok’s growth performance was at 4.4 percent.

“We deliver suppliers more. The growth of the purchase amount is due to buying more goods, therefore sometimes even lowering prices gives rise to an average bill,” he said.

From January to March of this year, the average customer check at Perekrestok amounted to 433.8 rubles ( about $13 ).

www.fruitnews.info

Russia imports of mandarin and grapefruit on the increase

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Russian citrus imports rose by 6% last year compared to 2012. The markets for mandarin and grapefruit in particular show high growth rates, respectively 40% and 34%, reports the Russian website fruitnews.ru. Turkey and Morocco traditionally are the two main citrus suppliers, but have to surrender a part of their market share to South Africa and Egypt. A striking newcomer on the mandarin market is Georgia.

Russia imported 1.7 million tons in 2013, accounting for 1.68 billion dollars. An increase of 6% compared to the year before. The main suppliers of citrus are Turkey and Morocco, accounting for 40% of the total volume. Egypt is third, followed by South Africa and China. The first EU country on the list is Spain occupying the sixth place. Cyprus and Greece are good for respectively the eleventh and twelfth place.

Mandarins and oranges are the most popular citrus fruits amongst the Russian consumers. Last year Russia imported more than 838,000 tons, accounting for almost half of the total citrus import. The largest mandarin suppliers are Turkey and Morocco. Although the volume from Morocco decreased compared to the previous years, the volume from Turkey grew. Together both countries account for half the mandarin supply. Other major suppliers are China, Pakistan, Spain, Argentina and Abkhazia. In October 2013 Georgia was allowed to supply the Russian market and ended up twelfth on the list with 12,000 tons.

Oranges were mainly imported from Egypt and South Africa. Volumes grew to 70% of the import. In total Russia imported 500,000 tons of oranges. Other major suppliers of oranges were Turkey, Spain and Morocco.

Grapefruit import grew by 20% compared with 2012 to 147,000 tons. The largest supplier of this citrus fruit is China, followed by Turkey, South Africa and Israel. The rise in consumption is due to media attention.

In the first quarter of this year, import fell by 11% to 577,000 ton. Key suppliers are Morocco, turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, China and Spain. New comer Georgia exported 2.6 tons of mandarins to Russia.

Expressed as a percentage, the market share of the export countries is stable. Turkey is on top of the list with 24.6%, followed by Morocco (14.5%) and Egypt (14.1%). In recent years the import of mandarins increased by almost 40% from 605,000 tons in 2010 to 838,000 tons in 2013. The import of grapefruit is also on the rise, growing 34%. In 2010 109,000 tons was imported, in 2013 it rose to 147,000 tons

The orange import grew with 5% from 478,000 tons in 2011 to 504,000 tons in 2013. The volumes from Egypt and South Africa are growing at the expense of Morocco and Turkey.

www.freshplaza.com

Belgorod Oblast to produce 1 mln tons of apples a year

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The Russian region of Belgorod is expected to produce one million tonnes of apples per year; a third of the Russian demand for this fruit. The head of Belgorod Oblast’s Department of Agriculture, Stanislav Aleynik, pointed out that last year, according to the Federal Customs Service, Russia imported $ 6.2 billion worth of fruits and berries, 40% of which could have been grown in Russia.

“After joining the WTO in 2012, customs tariffs have significantly fallen, so the volume of apple imports increased,” said Stanislav Aleynik. “Thus, Russian buyers are investing more than 500 million Euro in the development of foreign economies.”

According to officials, this is due to lack of domestic product in the market, but the situation can change. In the Belgorod region, the gross apple harvest last year reached 47,000 tonnes. More than half of the large companies have expanded and the average yield has improved with the growth of intensive orchards, where it is possible to grow 40 tonnes of apples per hectare.

Stanislav Aleynik noted that, in the future, depending on the number of trees planted per hectare, there will be three planting schemes, each needing a different investment and generating different levels of revenue. With the maximum density (2.5 thousand apple trees per hectare), the cost would be of 2.9 million Roubles, but within three years, when the trees begin to provide a stable yield, the net profit would be of 785 thousand Roubles per hectare.

However, the head of the Russian Association of Growers and CEO of a large Belgorod company, Victor Gorodov, noted that the main issue would be where to get so much quality planting material. According to Stanislav Aleynik, to achieve Belgorod’s goals the region would need an additional 27 million seedlings, and a lot of money.

However, Victor also believes that agriculture in Russia is easier than ever, as the technology has already been implemented. Besides, if we talk about the Belgorod region, the unique soils allow local fruit producers to compete with Western growers.

www.fruit-inform.com

Magnit fined $581 for endangering consumer health

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Administrative sanctions have been brought against the Magnit supermarket chain, which is owned by Tander, for numerous violations threatening the health of consumers. Charges brought against the company for violations of sanitary regulations were found to be justified by the Arbitration Court of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region, Fonatank.ru reported on June 14.

Supermarkets in the Magnit chain were inspected in Autumn 2013 according to a schedule agreed upon by prosecutors. Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-Being inspectors in St. Petersburg found evidence that the chain was selling substandard product, including rotten cucumbers and fish. An examination of cranberries sold by Magnit revealed the presence of cesium-137 in levels of up to 320 becquerels per kilogram.

The company denies the charges. The director of the St. Petersburg branch of Tander Vladimir Dubinin argued that most of the health department violations had not been documented. He rejected the findings of the supervisory authority on the sale of substandard product. “The official documents do not conform to current legislation,” Dubinin told Fontanka.ru.

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Azbuka Vkusa adds a new format

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The retailer Azbuka Vkusa announced launching new format of supermarkets – AV Market. As it has been known from Vedomosti newspaper Andrey Tkemaladze is going to be a director of the new chain of supermarkets.

According to the top manager, 5 hypermarkets, which Azbuka Vkusa gets as result of a deal with Spar, are going to be rebranded by the end of the year. Complimentary to rebranded Spar hypermarkets this year another 5 new hypermarkets will be opened: 3 – in Moscow, 2 – in Moscow region. The retailer is planning to open not less than 5 new AV Market hypermarkets per year.

When developing this new format supermarkets Azbuka Vkusa was deeply learning a background of USA supermarket networks such as Wegmans, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s.

Target market of AV Market is going to be wider than usual Azbuka Vkusa has. The retailer wants to carry out a new format – a market inside a store, where customers can bargain and get a discount depending on goods’ amount.
An average bill will be around 1000 Rubles and that is 1.5 lower than in usual Azbuka Vkusa supermarkets, but higher than in other super- and hypermarkets.

A product assortment is going to consist of 15,000-20,000 names. Groceries will take 10-15% of the whole amount of product assortment. A share of fresh products will take 50% of whole assortment. It is planned to create few in-store cafes, but it will depend on store square.

AV Market is going to be an anchor renter in shopping malls: minimal selling area of AV Market will take 2000 square meters, maximal – up to 10,000 square meters.

www.retailer.ru