Market News

Russia: wide apple price range in Moscow

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The apple price range was rather wide in Moscow on May 23: 0.61-1.37 euro/kg, depending on variety and country of origin.

Polish apples traditionally were the least expensive. Wholesale companies offered those apples at 0.65-0.87 euro/kg with the demand for them being moderate.

Apples of Spanish, French, Chilean and South African origin were offered as a premium category at 1.17-1.37 euro/kg.

It should be noted that prices of imported apples were significantly higher last year: 0.81-1.77 euro/kg. A year-on-year decrease in apple prices is connected with rather low demand for apples in the global market now.

www.fruit-inform.com

Alaska: Slow Start to Alaska Salmon Season

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Trollers in Southeast Alaska provide fresh king salmon nearly year round, but the runs of reds and kings to the Copper River mark the “official start” of Alaska’s salmon season.

On May 15 the fleet of more than 570 fishermen set out their nets on a beautiful day for the first 12 hour opener amidst the usual hype for the first fish.

Prices for the first fish dipped a bit – Copper River Seafoods posted advance sockeye prices at $3.50 and $6.00 for kings; that compares to $4.00 and $6.00-$7.00, respectively, for last year’s opener.

In what has become a traditional rite of spring, Alaska Airlines whisked away the first 24,000 pounds of the famous fish to Seattle where pilots traversed a red carpet to hand deliver a 48 pound king salmon to three chefs for a cook-off at Sea-Tac Airport. At least five other jets carried fresh fish from Cordova to eager buyers throughout the US, as well as to Anchorage.

Sockeyes are by far Alaska’s most valuable salmon, typically worth about two-thirds of the total statewide salmon haul. But in terms of global supply, wild sockeye are rare creatures – they account for about 5 percent of all wild and farmed production, and represent just 15 percent of the world’s wild salmon harvest.

Alaska typically accounts for 70 percent or more of global sockeye production, with nearly half of that coming from Bristol Bay. The U.S. is the single largest market, purchasing nearly 44 percent by value in 2012. Japan and the U.K. are next, followed by Canada.

Alaska’s sockeye salmon catch this year is projected at nearly 34 million fish, five million more than last year. Average statewide price last year was $1.60, an increase of 30 cents from 2012.

www.thefishsite.com

Russia doubles strawberry imports in March

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This year’s latest figures show that Russia has imported a large quantity of strawberries during the month of March, which have been devoted to the local market. This volume doubles the amount imported in February 2014.

Over 5,000 tonnes of strawberries were shipped to the Russian market in March, which more than doubles the volume purchased in February, which was of 2,000 tonnes. Russia’s main strawberry supplier was the European Union, which accounted for 83% of the shipments. Egypt stood second, followed in third place by China.

www.freshplaza.com

Alaska: Good Prices for Halibut and Sablefish Harvesters

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US – The basic laws of supply and demand are resulting in a nice pay day for Alaska halibut and sablefish harvesters. Prices for both fish are up by more than a dollar a pound compared to the same time last year.

Fresh halibut has been moving smoothly and demand is steady since the fishery opened in early March, said a major Kodiak buyer, where dock prices were reported at $6 a pound for ten to 20 pounders, $6.25 for halibut weighing 20 to 40 pounds, and $6.50 for “40 ups.”

At Homer and in Southeast Alaska, halibut prices have yet to drop below six bucks a pound, said local processors. Dock prices at Homer last week ranged from $6.50 to $7.00 per pound “for very small loads.”

At Southeast, after reaching a high of $6.75 at Easter, halibut prices were $6.60/$6.40 /$6.10 per pound. Processors are reporting “strong halibut catches and lots of nice fish”. The fresh fish is being flown out almost daily from Southeast and distributed in small lots to markets all over the US. Alaska’s total halibut catch this year is close to 16 million pounds.

For sablefish, commonly called black cod, longliners are benefitting from “bare cupboards” and strong demand by buyers in Japan, where the bulk of Alaska’s catch goes. Last year, holdovers in freezers pushed prices down 40% to the $5 to $3 per pound range, depending on fish size.

Black cod is usually priced in five weights, ranging from under three pounds to over seven pounds. At Kodiak the breakout was $6.75 – $5.75 – $5.00 -$4.50 and $4.00. Sablefish prices at Homer were running between $4 and $7 a pound. Southeast processors reported prices at $5.30 to $7 a pound at the docks. Alaska’s sablefish catch this year is about 24 million pounds. Most deliveries are going to Seward, followed by Kodiak and Homer.

www.thefishsite.com

Desert grape crop could approach record level

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Coming off a record year, California’s table grape production is already off to a fast start again, according to growers and shippers in the Coachella Valley.

“We’re two weeks early,” Nick Bozick, president of Mecca, Calif.-based Richard Bagdasarian Inc., said April 12. The desert grape deal typically doesn’t get underway until about May 1, concluding in mid-July. Other growers estimated their crop was similarly early. Shipments began in earnest in the last week of April.

Suppliers said their product would hit the market at a good time, too, with Chilean shipments concluded April 10. Those suppliers said the last of Chilean product, from a practical standpoint, would be cleared out by early May, just in time for their first shipments.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 8.2-kilogram containers of bagged thompson seedless grapes from Chile were $26-28 f.o.b. for extra-large; $24-26, large; and $22-24, medium, as of April 18. A year earlier, the same product from Chile was $20-22, extra-large; $18-20, large; and $14-16, medium.

Most growers planned to hit the markets with perlettes, then move into flames and scarlet royals, blacks and sugraones. Anticipated volume from the desert is 6 million to 7 million cartons, grower-shippers said. Growing conditions have been ideal, they added.

California logged a record year for table grape production in 2013, according to the Fresno-based California Table Grape Commission. California shipped a record volume of 117.4 million boxes (116.2 19-pound box equivalents), with a total crop value of $1.7 billion, the commission reported. The desert season kicks off the state’s production year, which runs through February. The commission said California produces 99% of the commercial fresh grapes grown in the U.S. “Over the past 10 years the volume has significantly increased,” Kathleen Nave, the commission’s president, said in a news release.

www.thepacker.com

Pesticide nitrates are detected in 600 tons of fruits and vegetables in Russia

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According to the latest data, Russian toxic substance control service has examined more than 600 tons of fruits and vegetables imported to the domestic market. Due to inspection results, violations of standards were detected in 27 lots of fruits including 120 tons of tomatoes, 120 tons of marrows and 220 tons of apples. The acceptable nitrates level was several times exceeded. Most of low quality products were delivered from Turkey and Poland.

www.freshplaza.com

Russian growers do not plan to raise apple prices until end of season

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The majority of Russian apple farms have already reported of the finish of the season with the rest offering remaining volumes.

In view of that, growers do not plan to revise apple prices to sell their stocks as soon as possible as the quality of apples is sharply decreasing now.

For the present, apple prices in Russia still vary between RUB 22-27/kg (EUR 0.41-0.51/kg), depending on variety. Price levels in the same period of the previous season were similar to current ones.

www.fruit-inform.com

Russian greenhouse vegetables increased in 2013

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Russia’s greenhouse vegetable cultivation industry in 2013 is on the rise. The greenhouse vegetable production has increased by 6.7% in 2013 as compared with 2012. According to the Russian Federation National Bureau of Statistics, the total output growth rate is the highest in the region of Ural in 2013 with an increase of 28%.

Vegetable greenhouses in the Volga Federal District have maintained a leading position in vegetable production in 2013. With a production output of 184,000 tons, they produce tomatoes, cucumbers and green vegetables.

Analysts in the Russian Central Federal District indicated that the greenhouse market situation is developing and consumer demands are increasing. More investors are investing in the vegetable greenhouses in the south of Russia. They estimate that in the next three years, the industrial greenhouses and vegetable production southern Russia will be significantly improve and develop.

Currently most of the fresh vegetables in Russia have been imported from abroad. High demand for fresh fruits and vegetable normally come from the capital city of Moscow during the low season.

www.freshplaza.com

Russia threatens Kiev with limits on agrarian trade

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Dmitri Medvedev, the Russian Prime Minister, has threatened the Ukraine with “serious sanctions” in the agrarian trade if their neighbouring country were to leave the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) or sign an agreement of union with the EU. A limit on the bilateral trading regime would be unavoidable, as Moscow is obliged to represent the interests of its agricultural producers, said Medvedev on the 5th of April during a congress of national delegates in Wolgograd.

The adjustments would take place within the framework of the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), he assured them. Medvedev had previously stated that Moscow would respect the decision of the Ukraine to integrate into the EU, but that it would have to protect itself against possible consequences that could arise due to the easier access EU products would have to the Ukrainian market.

www.freshplaza.com

Russian retailer Lenta undeterred by Ukraine crisis

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Jan Dunning, CEO of St Petersburg-headquartered hypermarket chain Lenta, says the situation in Ukraine has had no impact on the group, as consumer confidence remains unaffected in Russia.

The breakaway of Crimea from Ukraine marked a key pressure point in the crisis, after the region’s residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia.

Dunning said that consumer demand in Russia was unaffected by the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, but that Western sanctions on the country had weakened the rouble. Over the year-to-date, the dollar has risen almost 8.5 percent against the Russian currency. As a result, Lenta was looking to source products from within Russia, or from China.

Also on Thursday, Lenta reported robust sales growth of 37.3 percent for the first quarter, during which the chain opened two new hypermarkets. Dunning said Lenta’s expansion plans were undeterred by the Ukraine-Russia turmoil, with plans to open 24 hypermarkets and 15 supermarkets in 2014.

www.cnbc.com