Rosselkhoznadzor has allowed Chinese importers to again supply fresh apples and pears to the Russian market from February 20, 2022. This is good news for China and for Russian consumers, who are now paying a very high price for Russia’s voluntary self-isolation from global markets.
However, industry sources say it is bad news for Moldova, which now has a major competitor in the Russian market. Andriy Yarmak, an economist at the Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: “China is the world’s largest exporter of apples and has remained at the top of the global ranking of exporters, despite the ban on the supply of products to the Russian market. China exports about 1 million tons of fresh apples to many countries around the world annually.”
“The main advantage of Chinese apples is their low price. Therefore, they are mainly purchased for a low price segment, while China imports premium-quality apples from countries such as New Zealand, the USA, Chile, South Africa, and France.”