Fruits

Russia’s VAT on Fruit and Berries to be Reduced to 10%

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The Government of the Russian Federation will reduce the VAT on fruit down to 10%. Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev tweeted that he had decided to reduce the VAT on fruit and berries to 10%, as in his opinion, this should lead to lower prices and to the development of the domestic horticultural economy.

The Prime Minister said that the decision on whether to reduce the tax from 20 to 10% was made after a discussion with members of the government and deputies of the State Duma. Medvedev added that on July 10, during a visit to the headquarters of United Russia, it was agreed that the bill would be submitted by deputies to the State Duma.

The head of the Duma faction of United Russia, Sergei Neverov, said earlier that the bill was ready for submission to the Duma. He also said that all factions consider the issue of supporting fruit and berry producers as a priority, as Russian producers are yet unable to supply the volume that would cover the country’s needs.

Amendments are planned to be made to Article 164 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation.

The preferential VAT rate of 10% applies to a specific list of goods, including meat, meat products, milk, dairy products, eggs, vegetable oils, margarine, sugar, salt, grain, animal feed, bread and bakery products, fish, seafood, baby and diabetic food. From January 1 of the current year, fruits and berries were taxed at a rate of 20%.

www.freshplaza.com

Russian growers do not plan to raise apple prices until end of season

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The majority of Russian apple farms have already reported of the finish of the season with the rest offering remaining volumes.

In view of that, growers do not plan to revise apple prices to sell their stocks as soon as possible as the quality of apples is sharply decreasing now.

For the present, apple prices in Russia still vary between RUB 22-27/kg (EUR 0.41-0.51/kg), depending on variety. Price levels in the same period of the previous season were similar to current ones.

www.fruit-inform.com

Russian apple prices lower year-on-year

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The Russian apple market participants say about stagnation in the sector.

For the present, many apple growers have already finished their season. Still selling farmers do not revise prices in view of stably low demand for apples and often low quality of offered produce.

As a result, growers’ apple prices vary between RUB 15-30/kg (EUR 0.27-0.55/kg), depending on quality and production region. It should be reminded that in the mid-March 2013 domestic apples were offered at RUB 0.31/kg and higher.

As regards imported apples, the demand for them also remains extremely low, and prices are still stable.

www.fruit-inform.com

Possible ban from Russia big problem for EU exporters

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With Russia being a large importer of fresh produce, the current political situation between European nations and Russia could have significant ramifications for European exporters. The threat that the political climate could negatively impact their business has many European shippers hoping for a quick resolution to any political issues EU countries and Russia may have.

“If Russia bans any European produce, then it’s obvious that this will be a big problem for exporters currently working with Russia,” said Eric Guasch, President of AFRAA, an organization dedicated to promoting trade between the two nations. AFRAA is already working to lift the Russian ban on European potatoes and pork, and any further restrictions on European products would further hurt the continent’s shippers.

As for Israeli exporters, any action taken by Russia would only have an impact on some commodities, explained Rafi Zuri of Galil Export in Israel.Also Spanish kaki fruit from Spain would suffer, which will probably be a benefit for Sharon  fruit from Israel in winter, as they compete on persimmon during the winter. Other commodities wouldn’t have an advantage. Part of that has to do with the competition Israeli exporters face from Turkish exporters. Because products from Turkey are cheaper, and the Russian market prioritizes low-priced produce.

But throughout most of Europe, worries are much more prevalent, and the feeling is that any ban would eventually hurt Russia as well as Europe. Because of the potential impacts the current situation could unleash on those working in the fresh produce trade in both countries, everyone hopes political tensions can be resolved quickly.

www.freshplaza.com

Apple holdings down 3%

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About 61.5 million bushels of U.S. fresh market apples had yet to be shipped as of March 1, 3% less than last year at the same time.

The March 1 total is, however, 6% above the 5-year average of 58.2 million bushels, according to the March Market News report from the Vienna, Va.-based U.S. Apple Association.

Washington accounted for 53.1 million bushels of the U.S. total still in storage on March 1. Michigan had 3.9 million bushels, New York 3.3 million bushels and Pennsylvania 762,000 bushels.

Volumes of red delicious, galas, fujis, golden delicious and Pink Lady were down from last year.

Red delicious holdings fell from 23.9 million to 21.2 million bushels; galas from 9.6 million to 9.3 million bushels; fujis from 9.9 million to 6 million bushels; golden delicious from 7.4 million to 6.5 million bushels; and Pink Lady from 1.95 million to 1.9 million bushels.

Volumes of granny smiths increased, from 6.6 million to 8.5 million bushels.

www.thepacker.com

2013 tough year for Russian fresh produce imports

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Due to a number of factors, 2013 was a difficult year for many of Russia’s fruit and vegetable suppliers. Bad weather negatively impacted some crops while restrictions on fresh produce shipments to Russia from several regions of origin limited supplies. Many companies in Moscow also experienced problems with fresh produce storage when one of the biggest warehouse complexes in the city was closed. Negative changes in consumer behaviour and purchasing power also became evident at the end of the year.

According to data from the Federal Customs Service, imports of fruit, nuts and dried fruit to Russia in 2013 remained roughly equal to 2012 levels – amounting to 6.19 million MT or $6.26 billion. Compared to the previous year’s figures (6.16 million MT, $6.28 billion), the volume of imported fruit increased by 0.4 percent and the value decreased by 0.35 percent. Imports of vegetables over the same period grew more intensively. The gross import volume of vegetables reached 2.90 million MT, or $2.80 billion, exceeding the volume and value of 2012 by 6.3 percent and 12.4 percent, respectively.

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Anjou pear sales are up

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Anjou pear volumes were 24% higher in the last quarter of 2013 than in the same quarter the year before.

Sales of the variety also were 26% higher, according to Nielsen Perishables Group data analyzed by Wenatchee, Washington-based grower-shipper Stemilt Growers.

Volumes and sales of red anjous, bartletts and boscs also were up in the quarter, according to a Stemilt news release.

More use of ripening programs, value bag offerings and multiple varieties on ad at once are some of the reasons Stemilt has enjoyed a season of brisk pear movement, marketing director Roger Pepperl said in the release.

“Here at Stemilt, our pear program has really benefitted over the past several years from capital investments, new products, and a focus on getting multiple pears on ad every month during the fall and winter season,” Pepperl said in the release. “The increased shelf space for pears during a multi-pear ad often results in 15-20% increases in volume when compared to one item pear ads.”

www.thepacker.com

Russia reduces apple imports

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Russia’s imports of apples are still significantly lower compared with the previous season, according to Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation.

In particular, Russian importers purchased just 109,000 tons of apples in January 2014, a decrease of 28% year-on-year. Russia’s cumulative imports over the first 7 months of the current season fell by 15% compared with the same period of the previous season and totaled 575,000 tons.

Such a sharp decrease in apple imports is connected with lower shipments from Poland, which has reduced exports to Russia by 30% since the beginning of the season 2013/14, and rather moderate demand for apples in the Russian Federation.

www.fruit-inform.com

Pears remain impulse buy for American consumers

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Kevin Moffitt with Pear Bureau Northwest recently spent some time talking about the challenges to marketing the northwest pear crop.

“The first issue is the fact that pears are just not on people’s list. Not everybody is buying pears. They’re an impulse item with just a small but solid core group that is buying most of the fruit sold,” said Moffitt.

In a list of top fruit items sold in the U.S. apples come in at the number one spot but pears don’t make the top 10 at number 11.

Less than 50% of consumers buy pears in any given year. In addition to that 35% of pear purchasers are buying 90% of the pears sold.

“Those that do buy pears they tend to buy only 7 times per year,” Moffitt added. “So while we’ll continue to nurture those heavy pear purchasers one key objective is to move those medium pear purchasers up slightly.”

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Russia’s apple imports down in December 2013

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The Russian Federation keeps on reducing apple imports, according to the official statistics.

In particular, imports in December 2013 stood at 117,000 tons, a decrease of 6% year-on-year.

Russia’s cumulative imports in the first 6 months of the season 2013/14 totalled 466,000 tons, a decrease of 11% compared with the same period of the previous season, when imports had reached record high 524,000 tons.

Thanks to an increase of 13% in exports, Moldova was the largest supplier of apples to the Russian Federation in the first half of the current season. Poland, Serbia and China also were the key exporters.

www.freshplaza.com