Market News

Steady demand for pears in Russia

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According to major Russian retailer, the Dixy Group, pears are one of the most favoured fruits in Russia, enjoying stable sales throughout the year.

The peak season for pears starts at the beginning of spring with the start of supplies from the Southern Hemisphere. The main varieties during that time period are the Vermont and the Packham.

“Before the embargo, Belgium and Holland had been the main supplier for pears. However, we were lucky that we also had contracts with suppliers outside of the EU, once the embargo hit, so we were able to quickly rearrange distribution with a minimal amount of disruption.” said a representative from the retail chain.

The main pear supplier has become Serbia during January-April, in addition to supplies coming from South Africa, Argentina and Chile from April to September.

Despite suffering frost damage in the spring, the retailer said that they had not noticed any supply issues from Serbia and that the prices are at the same level as last year.

“The green pear varieties remain the favourite amongst consumers, and we currently have the Williams and Chinese pear in our assortment.”

As soon as the Russian embargo was introduced back in 2014, Russian suppliers immediately started to develop this category, actively investing in new growing areas and creating their own supply chain, but the production is still not to the level to be able to cover the demands of the major retail chains.

www.freshplaza.com

South African fruit exports to Russia declining

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According to statistics of the Federal Customs Service of Russia for 2015, the import of oranges from South Africa decreased by 40% in comparison with 2014. This year, export of SA citrus into Russia will fall even further. This is happening in spite of the countries’ leaders calling for increased fruit trade between them. In the opinion of South African and Russian businesses, the main reason for the drop in SA fruits imports to Russia was the introduction, by the Russian side, of a trade barrier in the form of a special mandatory EAC transport marking from February 2015.

By itself the marking does not contain any impossible requirements. The marking (it should be in Russian) describes the name of the product (apple or orange), country of origin, producer, exporter, importer – which is something already written in shipping documents (Bill of Lading, Certificate of Origin, Phytosanitary Certificate), but in English. It is also required to specify the period of validity of the product which is nonsense for fruits: an apple can survive a full year’s storage or rot after a couple of weeks if bitten by a worm. Such a sticker can be printed by South Africans, but often with mistakes, because Russian is not a dispersed language in the country. What is worse is that the EAC sticker must be affixed on each carton, but this does not fit with the technology of fruit preparation and sending them for export adopted in South Africa. According to the existing technology of work with perishable products, as soon as they are harvested and packed they must be delivered to cold storages in ports of loading. They are brought in already mounted and slashed on pallets to ensure safety of cargo during the long sea voyage to the client. Name and address of the concrete receiver will be often made certain at the last moment before the pallets go into the vessel or container. To break the pallets, fix stickers on each carton – there are minimum seventy on a pallet – and then again slash the pallets is not possible in conditions of port cold storages. Big exporters working under programs with big Russian importers can fix stickers at pack houses. It’s costly, but technically possible. But it is not possible for medium and small farms and exporters who work on spot basis and they are forced to leave the Russian market.

www.freshplaza.com, www.fruitnews.info

Russia increased fruit and veg imports from Egypt

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In the first half of this year, Russians imported about 362.5 thousand tonnes of fruit and vegetables from Egypt, compared to 310.5 thousand tonnes in the same period a year earlier. During 2015, the total volume purchased by Russia from Egypt reached 364.7 thousand tonnes, reports FAMMU/FAPA, based on data from Factsheet Russia.

The most imported products from Egypt between January and June this year were oranges, with 250.3 thousand tonnes, and onions, with 79.5 thousand tonnes. For comparison, in the corresponding first six months of the previous year, the volume of oranges purchased reached 201.5 thousand tonnes and that of onions stood at 91.4 thousand tonnes.

Besides these, Russians also imported almost 10 thousand tonnes of Egyptian mandarins, nearly 6 thousand tonnes of grapes and about 3.5 thousand tonnes of lemons, tomatoes and garlic.

www.freshplaza.com

X5 Retail Group to import 100% of its fruit & veg directly

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The X5 Retail Group (“Pyaterochka”, “Perekrestok” and “Karusel”), primarily owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, aims to be able to import 100% of its fruits and vegetables, without intermediaries, by 2019. At the moment, the retailer directly buys from abroad about 20% of its fresh produce.

In order to make it possible for the retailer to import everything directly, the firm will set up contracts with foreign producers, which will allow it to know what the exact price of the products will be, while managing the shipment and delivery terms, which is impossible when working with distributors, reported X5 in a statement.

To do this, the X5 will open two warehouses in rented space, which will be supplied solely by products from abroad until the end of 2016. This arrangement also reduces the duration of travel of fruit and vegetables from abroad by three days. This year, the company will start to operate warehouses in St. Petersburg and Novorossiysk, totalling 6 thousand square metres each, and in 2017 another one will come into operation in the Central Federal District.

At the moment, the company already has more than 100 contracts with foreign producers; a figure it plans to double within the next two years. The retailer is collaborating with suppliers of the EAEC and CIS countries, as well as from Georgia, Syria, Iran, Morocco, Serbia, Macedonia, Moldova, Egypt, Israel, China, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia, Argentina and Chile.

www.freshplaza.com

Russia lifted the ban for fry of flatfish and shrimp

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The Russian government lifted the restriction on the importation into Russia of fry of flatfish (Psetta maxima), white salmon (Dicentrarchus labrax) and whitefoot shrimp.

Earlier, the Russian government lifted the embargo for fry of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and fry of mussels. The embargo continues to affect the rest of live fish, crustaceans and molluscs.

The Russian authorities set the embargo on food imports from the US, EU member states, Australia, Norway, Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Ukraine in 2014. Meat and meat products, fish and seafood, fruit and vegetables and dairy products are banned for import to Russia. The embargo was introduced as a response to the sanctions against Russia after the annexation of the Crimea and the military conflict in Ukraine.

www.snob.ru, www.publication.pravo.gov.ru

41% of Russians spend less money on food

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Over the past six months, more than 40% of Russians began to spend less on food, according to a new research made in October by the fund “Public opinion” (FOM).

41% of Russians said that they had begun to save on food more than before, and 46% of Russians reported that they had not changed their spending habits.

It was found that most Russians save on meat and poultry (24%), cheese and sausages (20%), fish and seafood (18%), and fruit (14%).

As for non-food items, 25% o Russian save on clothes and shoes, 15% – on entertainment and leisure, 13% – on perfumes and cosmetics, 12% – both on restaurants and electronics.

www.russian.rt.com, www.fom.ru

Russian catch grew by 5.1% and reached 3.9 million MT from the beginning of the year

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As of October 19, 2016, the total Russian catch totaled 3,892,100 MT, that is 190,000 MT or 5.1% more than last year.

Russian Far East basin catch is 231,900 MT more than the last year catch – 2,657,800 MT. Pollock catch increased by 57,000 MT and reached 1,505.300 MT.

The total catch in the Northern basin increased by 5,200 MT and amounted 473,300 MT. Cod catch was 333,100 MT, which is more 13,900 MT than last year catch.

Azov-Black Sea catch was 74,600 MT, which is more 8,400 MT than last year catch. Baltic Sea catch was 8,900 MT more – 58,000 MT. Catches of Baltic herring increased by 1,700 MT and reached 19,000 MT. The total catch of aquatic bioresources in the Caspian basin was 42,200 MT, which is less than last year by 2,700 MT. Catch of freshwater fish amounted to 18,000 MT, which is 2,300 MT less than last year.

www.fish.gov.ru

Russia remained biggest apple importer in 2015

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Last year, 2015, more than 160 countries together imported 6.6 billion MT of fresh apples, up 7% on the previous year. Despite its ban on produce from Western countries, Russia remained the largest importer with 880,000 MT, followed by transit country Belarus, importing 730,000 MT.

Imports in the EU declined further by 11% to a low of 435,000 MT. The US became a small importer of 153,000 MT, down 26%. Mexico is the fourth largest importer with 306,000 MT, up 30%, followed by Egypt, which became a stable importer of 250,000 MT over the last year.

Vietnam, Myanmar and Pakistan are the new export destinations, registering more import volumes, but entering the Indian market is more challenging as competition from local produce is strong. China, Hong Kong and South Korea like imported high quality apples more and more.

World apple production in the 2015/16 season rose slightly last season to 76.9 million MT, with higher production in China largely offset by slightly lower production in the US and the EU. Global trade was lower due to a downturn in demand from Mexico, Libya, Brazil and Russia.

China’s production continued to rise, up 2.1 million MT to 43.0 million on higher yield acreage and favourable weather. Exports surged from 400,000 MT to 1.2 million on higher exports to Asian markets, particularly Bangladesh and Thailand, as improved production practices continue to boost competitiveness. However, the US production was down by over 500,000 MT to 4.6 million due to adverse weather in all growing areas. Exports are forecast to plummet to their lowest level in 6 years, dropping 256,000 MT to 780,000 with smaller shipments to Mexico, India, and other distant destinations.

www.freshplaza.com

Moldovan agricultural exports to Russia on the rise

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The trade turnover between Moldova and Russia in 2016 has increased thanks to a significant growth in the number of deliveries of Moldovan agricultural products to the Russian market.

This was stated by the Minister of Agriculture of Russia, Alexander Tkachev, during a working meeting with the Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry of Moldova, Eduard Grama, held in Moscow during the exhibition “Golden Autumn”, reports NOI.md.

Tkachev noted the positive dynamics of the trade turnover between the two countries, stressing that bilateral trade has increased by almost 21% compared to the same period last year, with the supply of traditional Moldovan agricultural products, namely apples, pears, quinces, apricots, plums and cherries, up by more than 27%.

During the meeting it was noted that the significant increase in the volume of Moldovan agricultural products since the beginning of 2016 has been mainly due to the active work of the supervisory agencies of the two countries.

www.freshplaza.com

Russia lifts ban on some Turkish farm imports

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October 11, The Russian government on Tuesday lifted a ban on some food imports from Turkey, imposed last year after Turkey downed a Russian warplane near the Syrian border, in the latest sign of a warming in ties with Ankara.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the decision to end the ban on Monday in Istanbul, where the two countries agreed to build an undersea gas pipeline to Turkey.

A government decree said Russia had lifted the ban on imports of fresh and dried oranges, tangerines and other citrus fruit, as well as apricots, peaches and plums.

Both sides have since made significant progress to mend relations and agreed to revive trade relations in July after President Tayyip Erdogan expressed regret over the shooting-down of the Russian plane.

www.uk.reuters.com