In the period from 2014 to 2018, apple imports to the Russian market decreased by 23% from 1.13 to 0.87 million MT.
Among the reasons for the decline in imports, analysts have cited the introduction of Russian counter-sanctions since August 2014 and the devaluation of the ruble, after which foreign products went up in price. The state support of Russian gardening also affected the state of the market. This writes RBC with reference to the data “Analysis of the apple market in Russia,” prepared by BusinesStat.
The change in the reporting period and the structure of imports by supplier countries. So, in 2014, Poland was the main supplier of apples to the Russian market with a share of 37.1%. After the introduction of the pro-bargo, which affected Polish supplies, Belarus became the key importer with a share of 51.4%.
“Supplies of apples to Russia from this country doubled in 2015 compared to 2014 and amounted to 518,000 MT. Russian experts expressed a reasonable opinion that deliveries were made across the Belarusian border from countries in which anti-sanctions were imposed. This was supported by the fact that after the embargo was introduced by Russia, the import of apples to Belarus increased markedly,” the study notes.
In particular, in 2014, Belarusian exports increased by 2.3 times – from 180,500 MT to 414,700 MT, and in 2015 another 76.3% compared to 2014, reaching 731,100 MT. During 2016 and 2017, the volume of Belarusian supplies to Russia decreased. Last year, imports of apples from Belarus to Russia amounted to 81,600 MT.
Last year, Moldova became the main supplier of apples to the Russian market with a volume of 245,800 MT(28.3% of total Russian imports). China ranked second in shipments, sending 128,900 MT of apples to Russia, or 14.8% of total imports. Third place in the ranking of supplier countries was taken by Serbia with a share of 14.5% (125,600 MT). The fourth place was fixed for Azerbaijan (9.5%, or 82,300 MT). Analysts stressed that despite all the efforts of the Government of the Russian Federation, apples from countries that fell under counter sanctions (Poland, Ukraine) continue to enter the Russian market under the guise of Belarusian, Moldovan, Serbian.