Fruit import

Devaluation in Turkey Stimulates Local Banana Production and Apple Exports

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The recent depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar, increasing by 12% since the start of 2024 and 71% over the year, has had significant implications for the fruit and vegetable industry. This devaluation has temporarily boosted Turkey’s export advantage in apples, excluding the Golden Delicious variety, as well as in lemon and grapefruit exports. Fedir Rybalko notes that the devaluation also stimulates local banana production.

With Iran’s withdrawal from the global apple market, Turkey stands to enhance its exports to India, a competitive market between the two countries. This shift could also bolster Turkey’s competitive position in exporting greenhouse tomatoes to Ukraine.

Turkey’s emphasis on bolstering domestic banana and other fruit and vegetable production is evident. It ranks among the top 8 global exporters in this sector, with exports growing annually by over 5%, equating to approximately US $320 million.

Although Russia remains the largest importer of Turkish fruits and vegetables, its share is decreasing. Conversely, exports to Germany, Iraq, Romania, and several other EU and Middle Eastern countries are on the rise.

Notably, Türkiye has significantly reduced banana imports over the past three years, with import volumes declining by more than fourfold.

Source: east-fruit.com

Fruit Import to Russia Decreased in Volume Term, but Grew in Value in Q1 2020

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In Q1 2020, Russia imported 1.5 mln MT of fresh and dried fruit (-2.7% year-on-year), worth $1.3 bn (+8.4%).

Fresh and dried fruits were shipped to Russia in the first quarter of 2020 from 64 countries. The main exporting countries were Ecuador, Turkey, and Egypt.

Imports from Ecuador in January-March 2020 amounted to 428,300 MT of fresh and dried fruits, 2.5% more than during the same period last year. In value terms, import increased by 2.6% to $317.7 mln. Bananas accounted for almost the entire volume.

Import from Turkey increased by 50.3% up to 256,400 MT and by 61.6% to $201.4 mln with citrus fruits prevailing.

Import of fresh and dried fruits from Egypt amounted to 177,000 MT (-4.3%), worth $118.7 mn (+6.6%). More than 90% of the supplies were citrus fruits.

Fresh and dried bananas accounted for the largest share of imports amounting to 438.7 mln MT (+2.8%), worth $326.3 mln (+3.1%). Ecuador was the main bananas exporting country accounting for almost 100% of all Russia’s banana imports, both in volume and value terms.

The import of apples declined by 2.2% down in volume terms to 239,600 MT, but increased by 26% up to $153.8 mln in value terms. The largest apple exporters were Serbia and Moldova.

Import of oranges amounted to 189,700 MT (-0.7%), worth $ 121.4 mln (+12.3%) mostly coming from Egypt and Turkey.

The largest exporters of mandarins to Russia in the first quarter of 2020 were Pakistan, Turkey, Morocco, and Egypt. During the reporting period, 167,600 MT of mandarins (+6.5%), worth $121.2 mln (+7.9%) was imported.

Lemons and limes imports accounted for 56,700 MT (-2.6%), worth $51 mln (+19.7%). The main exporter was Turkey.

Import of fresh and dried grapes increased by 0.6% up to 50,100 MT in volume terms and by 7% up to $79.7 mln in value terms. The largest volumes came from India, Moldova, Peru and South Africa.

Pears import amounted to 45,100 MT, 33% less than during the same period in 2019. In value terms, pears import supplies increased by 7.5% to make $43.1 mln. Most of the volume came from Argentina, South Africa, and Turkey.

 

www.seanews.ru

Maersk Launches its Cold Store in St. Petersburg, Russia

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Nine months after the construction began in June 2019, the chilled capabilities of Maersk’s own cold store in St. Petersburg are operational, addressing the needs of a high-demand Russian market. In the near future, the facility will also offer freezing capabilities in a separate storage chamber for frozen produce (-25°C).

The first container to arrive at the new warehouse brought pears from Argentina after a 26-day journey and was unloaded swiftly into the chilled chamber operating at a temperature of 0.5 Celsius. In total, more than 60 Maersk’s refrigerated containers were scheduled to arrive at the facility as part of the end-to-end service from Argentina, as well as grapes and apples originating from South Africa.

“The full end-to-end offering will allow our customers to enjoy the shorter overall lead time, predictable costs and best in class service,” said Zsolt Katona, Managing Director, Eastern Europe at Maersk during the inauguration of the first reefer container.

The new cold store operated by Maersk has a total capacity of more than 40 000 pallets in 3 chambers and uses CO2 cooling, which makes it the largest commercial cold store in Russia using this new technology. Over the next months, as part of its Cold Chain Management product, Maersk will also establish on-site customs clearance, bonded cold storage (frozen) and phytosanitary/veterinary services, as increased interest by both current and prospective customers underpins Maersk’s strategy of providing integrated solutions for reefer logistics.

www.freshplaza.com

 

Russia Imported Less Fruit and Vegetables in 2019

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Russian imports of fresh fruit and vegetable have seen a recovery in recent years after introducing the boycott on food products from the European Union, USA and some other countries in 2014. However, in 2019, these imports declined again. Compared to 2018, 4% fewer fruit and vegetables were imported.

The import of fresh vegetables remained at the same level as in 2018. Fresh fruit imports shrank by 5%. There was a sharp decline in the import of apples, pears, and peaches/nectarines. These fell by 17, 16, and 15%, respectively.

Mandarins are the second most imported fruit in Russia. Imports of this citrus fruit have never been as high as they were last year. The import of the major product groups such as tomatoes, oranges, and grapes was less.

Russia imported 7 million MT of fresh fruit and vegetables last year. Compared to the years before the import ban, this is 1,5 million MT less. This volume still makes Russia the third-largest importer of fresh fruit and vegetables. In first and second places are the United States and Germany.

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Turkish Citrus Exports to Russia are Led by Mandarins

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During the first eleven months of 2019, Turkey exported 393,548 MT of citrus fruits worth 214.7 million dollars to Russia, according to data of the Eastern Black Sea Exporters Union (DKIB) for the period between January and November.

Mandarin was the most exported citrus with 230,352 MT worth 118 million dollars.

Turkish lemon exports to Russia during this period amounted to 55 million dollars while orange exports totaled 23.7 million dollars.

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Over Half of Georgian Mandarin Exported to Russia

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According to the data of November 20, 2019, the export of Georgian mandarin amounted to 1,658 tons, the Georgian Ministry of Environment and Agriculture told EastFruit.

According to the ministry, in the first place in the export of tangerine, as a year earlier, is Russia, where 906 MT were delivered (55%). Export was also carried out to Armenia (468 MT), Ukraine (222 MT), Latvia (41 MT) and Azerbaijan (22 MT).

Harvesting of mandarin in Georgia began in the second decade of November, it is expected that in the coming days it will enter the active phase. According to the ministry, the mandarins of this year’s harvest are mostly of high quality, which was due to tangible progress in the fight against marble bugs that harm many crops, including citrus. Accordingly, farmers can rely on higher purchase prices.

Currently, the average purchase price for a standard mandarin is approximately 0.6 GEL ($0.2 at the current exchange rate) per 1 kg.

“As for export markets, Russia and Ukraine are traditional in this case. It is important that as a result of the work done, interest has also appeared from Belarus. I hope that the logistics issues will be settled, and the Georgian mandarin will be established in the Belarusian market. Our products are competitive, they meet all the requirements for packaging, proper delivery and delivery. Today, Georgian mandarin is presented on the market in accordance with modern standards. Last year, we successfully exported trial lots to Poland, the Persian Gulf and Central Asia. These export destinations will not replace existing markets, but we expect them to grow and contribute to diversification, ”said Levan Davitashvili, Minister of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Adjara Autonomous Republic, more than 20 enterprises are engaged in receiving from farmers, sorting and packing export mandarin in Adjara (the main supplier of this citrus to the market). Separately provided for the reception of non-standard mandarin. The refrigeration capacities of the region allow cooling and storing about 7 thousand tons of mandarin simultaneously.

To facilitate the organized and unhindered delivery of citrus fruits by farmers to the Ministry of Agriculture of Adjara, a coordination headquarters has been opened. A hotline is available to quickly obtain information.

According to the National Statistics Service of Georgia, the mandarin crop in the country in 2018 amounted to 62,300 MT. The volume of exports of fresh or dried tangerines at the end of 2018 amounted to $13,989,800.

www.sdrz.ru

Prices for Iranian Fruit and Veg Expected to Fall in Russia

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Economists forecast a 3-4% drop in the prices paid for vegetables and fruits imported by Russia from Iran, as well as a 30% increase in their share in the Russian market.

This would be the result of the reduction in customs duties between the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Iran. For Tehran, tariffs will decrease by an average of 64% after the agreement on the creation of a temporary free trade zone comes into force.

Payments for nuts will be completely canceled; for vegetables, they will drop by 25-50%; for fruits, by 50% to 100%. Due to these declines, the price of tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes or herbs should become cheaper.

For entrepreneurs from the EAEU (Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan), Tehran is in turn reducing tariffs by an average of 23%. The agreement will remain in force until October 2022, after which a fully-fledged free trade zone is planned to be created.

Experts have praised the agreement with Iran and said that trade between both countries could grow by $ 1.5 billion.

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Peaches were Turkey’s most exported fresh produce to Russia

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According to the Eastern Black Sea Exporters Association’s (DKIB) figures, in the first 9 months of the year, Turkey exported 505,547 MT of fresh fruits and vegetables to Russia, worth $412.6 mln. Peaches ranked first with an export volume of 73,455 MT and with an export value of $75.8 mln. Peaches were followed by tomatoes and grapes.

Last year, in the same period, Turkey exported 72,897 MT of peaches for $66.8 mln. Thus, peach exports to Russia increased by 1% in terms of volume and by %13 in terms of value.

The Black Sea Region was responsible of 101,883 MT of the overall fresh fruits and vegetables exports to Russia. The region earned $83.9 mln from these exports. Peaches also ranked first in Black Sea Region’s exports to Russia. 14,541 MT of peaches were exported from the area in exchange of $14.9 mln.

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More Uzbek Vegetables and Fruits to be Exported to Russia

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Fruits and vegetables, exported from Uzbekistan, will be delivered to Russia according to a simplified scheme. The corresponding agreement was signed in Tashkent on 1 October during a visit to Uzbekistan by a delegation of Russian senators led by Valentina Matvienko.

Dozens of Russian companies now work in Uzbekistan, and the number of enterprises with Russian participation has long exceeded one thousand. More than 7 billion dollars alone are investments in the country’s economy by Russian oil giant Lukoil, while Gazprom is developing the second field here.

On 1 October, representatives of the government and business of Russia and Uzbekistan put their signatures under another document that will help bring more grapes, persimmons, figs, pink pomegranate, tomatoes and other famous Uzbek fruits and vegetables to our country. This is a “road map” that aims to quickly deliver fruit and vegetable products from Uzbekistan to the Russian Federation, including by simplifying customs procedures.

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Russia to Create Green Corridor for Israeli Agricultural Products

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Russia will launch a “green corridor” to simplify the supply of agricultural products from Israel, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at an international conference of the Keren Hayesod Foundation.

“Bilateral cooperation in the agricultural sector is also of great importance. Currently, work is underway to launch the so-called ‘green corridor’ to simplify the supply of Israeli agricultural products to the Russian market,” the president said.

According to the FCS, food products and agricultural raw materials account for 35.99% of Russia’s total imports from Israel. Of these, vegetables and tubers were imported for a total of $177.7 million, and fruits, nuts, citrus fruit peel or melons for $53.4 million.

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