Three years ago Russia implemented punitive measures against European countries and the United States of America. Later they also carried out sanctions against Turkish products. Against this background, Chinese fruits and vegetables have started occupying sales counters in Russia. According to the customs office of the Russian Federation, Chinese fruits and vegetables had only held 9.6% of the market shares in Russia, but this has grown by almost 20% in the first half of this year. The Chinese potential is huge.
Due to the climate and the use of all kinds of technologies, the crops grown in China are more abundant than those of many other countries. The produced vegetables and fruits respectively take up 60% and 30% of the global output. Only for potatoes, the yearly Chinese output has reached up to somewhere between 60 million and 70 million tons, which is more than twice the output of Russia itself. Many sorts of Chinese products have started increasing their market shares on the Russian market, among these is the Chinese cabbage’s increased from 25% to 39%. Some products have nearly monopolized the Russian market. Garlic, for example, holds 80% of the market share. Currently, Russian importers have been paying more and more attention to Chinese products.
Cheap prices are one of the main reasons why Chinese goods are becoming increasingly popular. Chinese producers can provide cheaper products than competitors in other countries. As a matter of fact, the amount of Chinese products crossing Russian sales counters is a lot larger than was indicated by the customs office. In the most recent 10 years, Chinese people have started growing large amounts of vegetables within the Russian borders. The main Chinese plantations are located in Siberia or in the region around the Ural mountains. Chinese communities can be found throughout almost all agricultural regions in Russia. The output of these farms that are operated by Chinese growers is a multiple of the output of farms in China, but the price for products is a lot lower.