Mosgorstat (Moscow City Statistics Service) has published the data regarding Q1, Q2 and Q3 of 2011 compared with the same period in 2010.
The retail trade volume in Q1-Q3 2011 amounted to RUB 2,356.8 bln, 5.8% more than in 2010. The food items sales volume, including beverages and tobacco, grew by 4.2%. Food-items, beverages and tobacco accounted for 51% of the retail turnover. Retailers’ turnover grew by 7.2% y-o-y.
Source: www.retail.ru
Azbuka Vkusa is planning to expand the retail chain of premium-class supermarkets up to 50 stores till April 2012. In the financial year 2011 the company is planning to open 10 new stores, 3 of them have already been put into operation. At the moment the chain includes 43 stores.
The opening of one store requires about USD 4 mln investment. In 2010 the company’s net profit grew fourfold to RUB 978.8 mln from RUB 237.9 mln in 2009.
Source: www.retail.ru
The Russian government has agreed to decrease its average import duties on agricultural and industrial products as part of Russia’s membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Specifically, average import duties on agricultural products are expected to be lowered to 10.8% from the current 13.2%, the WTO said.
Roughly 33% of newly set import duties are expected to come into effect when Russia joins the WTO, while about 25% are to be lowered in the next three years.
Source: www.prime-tass.com
The German Metro Group has put on hold negotiations on sale of Real hypermarkets chain, but may resume them after resignation of its Head Eckhard Cordes. Among the companies interested in acquisition of Metro active assets, including 16 stores in Russia, is the French Auchan, running 46 hypermarkets in Russia.
As per Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) Metro Group has put on hold sale of the Real chain (424 stores in Germany, Poland, Russia etc.). Metro confirmed that at the moment there are no active negotiations.ail
Source: www.retail.ru
The French retailer Auchan, Russia’s 3rd largest food retail operator in terms of sales volume, is planning to open 5 new hypermarkets in 2012. As per Interfax news agency, they will appear in Ulyanovsk, Volgograd, Ryazan, Tyumen and Nizhniy Novgorod. The total estimated investment volume in the chain development amounts to 4.5 billion roubles.
In October 2011 Auchan opened new stores in Kazan and Ufa. By the end of 2011 the company is planning to open new hypermarkets in Novosibirsk, Samara and Chelyabinsk. As of Q3 2011 the company is running 30 Auchan hypermarkets and 14 Auchan City stores. The company is also developing a chain of supermarkets Atak, which now includes 50 stores.
Source: www.retail.ru
Russian importers do not want to work with Ukrainian apples due to their high prices. Ukrainian apples are offered averagely at EUR 0.70-0.75/kg in Russia . At the same time, sufficient quantities of Serbian and Moldovan apples of comparable quality are offered at EUR 0.60-0.65/kg in the Russian market. Large wholesale lots of high-quality apples from Poland are sold at the same prices. In addition, every year, a high import duty on the EU apples currently in force in Russia is reduced 2 times on January 1 that traditionally increases the pressure on prices.
In Ukraine, current prices for apples are 15-20% higher year-on-year. Ukrainian farmers plan to start their sales of high-quality apples only since the mid-December. Those farms that are selling apples from storage offer their produce at prices not lower than EUR 0.59-0.68/kg and report of the stable demand in the internal market in the event of such prices. Apples not suitable for storage are offered at last year’s prices: EUR 0.27-0.45/kg.
Source: www.freshplaza.com
USDA announced that Russia became the world’s number one importer of apples and pears in the 2010 marketing year, a trend that is likely to continue throughout 2011, as the country trends towards healthy eating. This year, the USDA estimates the fruit hungry nation could import as much as 1.11 million metric tons and 412,000 tons of apples and pears respectively. Despite the magnitude of the country, Russia still depends heavily on imports because it only produces one-third of the fruit it consumes. “Russians are eating more fruit and diversifying the types of fruit they consume due to increasing disposable incomes and a trend toward eating more healthy diets,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its Moscow attaché.
Still, the amount of fruit Russians consume remains much lower than their counterparts in the U.S., Europe, Japan and China. According to the USDA, the typical Russian person consumes only 71 kg of fruit per capita/year while an American would eat 122.5kg per capita/year. But with Russians already consuming 10% more fruit last year, growth rates are certainly alarming. Fruit consumption patterns in Russia vary depending on the part of the country. In smaller cities or rural areas, people tend to eat local produce while city dwellers in Moscow or St. Petersburg eat higher quantities of imported fruit.
Source: www.freshplaza.com
The 2011 situation in the Russian and Ukrainian market showed the importance of direct contacts between international suppliers and retail chains from the Eastern European. Retail chains in Russia and Ukraine are the largest purchasers of fruits, vegetables and potatoes, therefore Fruit-Inform decided to include the First Ukrainian-Russian Trade Forum in the program of the 8th International Conference “Fruits & Vegetables of Ukraine – 2011. New Exporter”.
The conference takes place in conjunction with Fresh Produce Ukraine 2011 (November 30 – December 2, 2011), the international fair for fruit and vegetable production, processing, storage and handling technologies of Ukraine and CIS with about 10,000 horticultural business professionals from Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Moldova and other countries.
Participation has already been confirmed by X5 Retail Group (Perekrestok), Viktoriya (Viktoriya Kvartal, Dyoshevo, Semeynaya Kopilka and Viktoriya retail chains), Tander (Magnit), Auchan, Metro, ATB-Market, Kontinent, Karavan, Klass supermarket chain, Ukrainskiy Retail (Brusnichka freshmarkets).
Source: www.freshplaza.com
In June-July 2010, Russia became the largest importer of apples and pears in the world with a combined total import volume of 1,521,600 MT. Fruit consumption in Russia is going up, reaching 71 kg per person in 2010. This trend is likely to continue, supported by a trend toward healthy diets in Russia. Russia produces only 30% of the fruit it consumes and therefore relies heavily on imports.
In June-July 2011, Russian imports of apples and pears are expected to go up slightly and reach 1,115,000 metric tons (MT) and 412,000 MT, respectively. The grape import forecast is around 403,000 MT, slightly lower the 2010 level. The long-term prospects for U.S. apple, pear and grape exports is good given that Russian production is not expected to increase significantly. In the short term, U.S. exports could face challenges based on price because of the weakening of the Ruble since September.
Source: www.freshplaza.com
Azbuka Vkusa has launched a massive eco-program which implies total switch to biodegradable shopping bags and packing. From now on all purchases are put into biodegradable bags which remain free of charge for customers.
Switch to eco-friendly bags is the first step of the new corporate social responsibility program, carried out by the retailer.
As further steps Azbuka Vkusa is planning to broaden the line of craft bags of different size and eco-friendly jute bags. The company is considering the option of total refusal of plastic packaging.
Source: www.retail.ru