Fruits

Russia may ban import of Polish fruit and vegetables

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Russia’s veterinary inspection service Rosselkhoznadzor may impose a ban on fruit and vegetable imports from Poland because of risks dangers and re-export goods may be supplied to the country, as follows from the agency’s statement, published on Friday.

Rosselkhoznadzor informed the Polish State Plant Health and Seed Inspection Service about its concern over the situation, noting that import restrictions might be imposed unless the Polish side took measures to prevent identified violations.

In 2012 and in the last nine months of 2013 alone, Rosselkhoznadzor exposed 21 batches of Polish vegetable products contaminated with quarantine objects. Besides, there were over 900 cases detected in 2013 of non-compliance with international requirements for phytosanitary documents. The Polish side reportedly provided unreliable or distorted information about the country of origin, and the senders and recipients of goods. The exported products lacked marking. And it is also possible that phytosanitary certificates and accompanying documents were improperly executed.

www.freshplaza.com

Apple holdings up 10%

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About 120 million bushels of U.S. fresh-market apples were in storage as of Nov. 1, 10% more than last year at the same time.

The November total also is 10% higher than the 5-year average, according to the November Market News report from the Vienna, Va.-based U.S. Apple Association.

About 99 million bushels of fresh-market apples were still in storage in Washington, according to the report. Michigan had about 8.3 million bushels left to ship, New York 7.4 million and Pennsylvania 1.7 million.

By variety, gala and granny smith holdings were up over last year, and red delicious, fuji and golden delicious were down.

About 21.6 million bushels of galas had yet to be shipped, up from 20.6 million bushels. Granny smith holdings were up from 11.5 million to 14.5 million bushels.

Red delicious holdings dropped from 35.5 million to 35.2 million bushels, fujis from 15.5 million to 13 million bushels and golden delicious from 12.4 million to 10.8 million bushels.

Holdings of traditional Eastern varieties including mcintoshes, jonathans, empires, romes and cortlands were up significantly from 2012, when freezes devastated Michigan and New York crops.

 

www.thepacker.com

Closure of Pokrovskaya benefits large retailers

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After the fruit and vegetable warehouse Pokrovskaya in Biryulyovo was closed, “RBC Daily” has talked to those whose businesses are somehow influenced by what is going on in the Russian fruit and vegetable market: wholesalers, restaurant owners , suppliers, managers of still operating fruit and vegetable warehouses, etc.

It turned out that owners of small retail stores, non-chain restaurants and vegetable kiosks are those who have faced the major problems, as they were purchasing their goods directly in Biryulyovo. Right now they still can’t find an alternative source of supply for the same old price.

However, big retail market players are the winners in this situation. They have pointed out that there is an increase in demand, which is, in their opinion, due to the shift of the customers who used to purchase products in convenience stores near their homes and at the market. For example, METRO Cash & Carry say that they are observing a tendency of an increasing demand for fresh vegetables and fruits.

www.retailer.ru

 

US: Pear harvest strong in Pacific Northwest

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Oregon and Washington’s combined pear harvest will approach a record this year, with growers and packers reporting a heavy yield of large, high-quality fruit.

Estimates made in June, well before picking began, projected a fresh market harvest of 19.8 million 44-pound boxes, the standard measurement unit. The estimate was 4 percent larger than the five-year average, and would have made it the third largest crop grown by the Wenatchee and Yakima regions of Washington and the Mid-Columbia and Medford regions of Oregon.

Some growers were hard-pressed to find enough pickers at peak harvest in mid-September, when the Hood River Valley alone employed about 1,800 pickers a day. The crunch has passed, however. Growers in the upper valley, where fruit comes on later than at lower elevations, will finish picking soon, said Jean Godfrey, executive director of the Columbia Gorge Fruit Growers in Hood River.

“We have a very heavy crop, a beautiful crop, larger than normal,” Godfrey said.
Nathan Duckwall, assistant production manager at Duckwall Fruit in Odell, said his company may pack 10 percent more boxes than last year. “We had really good growing conditions this year, a good hot summer,” he said. “The size of the fruit is really big, too.”

The larger the pears, the fewer it takes to fill a box, which results in increased box production numbers. No matter the final production numbers, the harvest marks another good turn for Oregon and Washington pear growers.

About one-third of the crop that moves through Duckwall is exported. Top export markets include Mexico, Canada, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, Hong Kong and India. The latter is one of the strongest growth market for Northwest growers, according to Pear Bureau Northwest, a non-profit marketing firm that represents about 1,600 growers in Oregon and Washington.

China opened its door to U.S. pears for the first time in February, and is projected to become a top 10 market for Northwest growers within three years, according to the Pear Bureau. Pears packed by Duckwall were the first into China, Nathan Duckwall said. He’s cautious about the future impact of that market, however. “I don’t think it will be that big,” he said. “It’s significant, but it’s not a game changer.”

www.freshplaza.com

Warehouse Pokrovskaya is relocated outside Moscow

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Fruit and vegetable warehouse Pokrovskaya is located in Biryulevo neighborhood in Moscow, that is one of the biggest centers of wholesale trade of fruits and vegetables in Russia. Pokrovskaya warehouse belongs to JSC “Novie Cheremushki”, which, according to media reports, is controlled by stepbrothers Aliaskhab Hajiyev and Igor Isaev from Dagestan. The area of warehouse is more than 120,000 square meters. According to some experts, daily turnover was 20-40 million dollars; according to other estimates, the actual turnover was 3-4 million dollars per day. The exact figure is not known, as more than half of the turnover of Pokrovskaya warehouse belongs to the shadow market.

Biryulevo neihgborhood is just a kilometer from the warehouse. Residents keep complaining about the criminal situation in the area, the high level of illegal migration, bad traffic situation and an enormous amount of waste and garbage.

On October 10, a young man was stabbed by an unknown, presumably from Central Asia or the Caucasus area.
On October 13, more than 1000 people invaded Pokrovskaya warehouse, demanding swift investigation of the murder, the closure of the warehouse and stiffening immigration policy.
Pokrovskaya warehouse was partially closed for cleaning day on October 14. And in the evening it was closed forever. On October 15, it was announced that it would be transferred outside Moscow.
On October 15, the murderer was found and arrested, it was a Azerbaijan native Orhan Zeynalov born in 1982.

Sources: www.ria.ru, www.rosbalt.ru, www.ru.wikipedia.org

Russia has become the main market for Spanish fruit and vegetables

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The integration of Russia to the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into effect on August 22 after 18 years of negotiations. Russia has become the main market for the export of fruit and vegetables from Spain.

Exports of fruits and vegetables from Spain to Russia in 2011 stood at 243,027 tons, 47% more than in 2010, making Russia the first non-EU member market for Spanish fruit and vegetables. Spanish vegetable export to Russia in 2011 reached 35,276 tons compared to 23,877 tons in 2010, 48% more, due to increased exports of cucumbers, tomatoes and lettuce. Fruit shipments totalled 207,751 tons, compared to 141,259 tons in 2010, 47% more. Peaches, nectarines and tangerines were the most imported fruit by Russia from Spain.

In 2011 Russia accounted for 30% of total exports from Spain to countries outside the EU, which stood at 814,896 tons.

For 2012 Russia still remains the main destination of Spanish fruit and vegetable exports, since in February shipments grew 50% compared to the same months of 2011, totalling 47,362 tons, according to the latest information updated by the Department of Customs and Excise Tax Agency, processed by FEPEX. After the final integration of Russia in the WTO, there is concern from FEPEX to establish an adequate policy to maintain the good performance of exports of fruits and vegetables.

Source: www.freshplaza.com

Since January consumer prices in Russia have grown 5 times more compared to Europe

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For the first half of this year, consumer prices in Russia have grown by 4.5%. On the average, in the EU consumer prices have increased by 0.9% for the same period.

In the U.S., Canada and Turkey, consumer prices have grown by 2%, in the Republic of Korea by 0.7%, and in Norway the deflation rate was 0.4%. The only country, where the inflation rate was higher than in Russia is Belarus, the inflation rate there  is 12% for the period.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service of Russian Federation, the inflation rate of the food segment was one of the highest of all the other sectors in Russia: food prices rose by 5.9% in Russia, in the EU – by 1.6%.

And although price growth for vegetables decreased more than twice, it was still quite high – 8%.

Prices for fruits in Russia fell by 2% in August, in the EU decline in prices for the same period was 3.5%.

Source: www.fruitnews.ru

Few greenhouse fruits and vegetables are grown in Russia

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According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia, for the last 3 years supply of imported greenhouse vegetables and fruits was about 900 TMT per year, while domestic greenhouses farms have grown only 37% of the required products.

Nikolai Fyodorov, Minister of agriculture, noted, beside the small volume of Russian greenhouse products, the low rate of greenhouses construction in Russia. The Minister also promised some subventions from the state, sponsoring the purchase of modern greenhouses.

Source: www.fruitnews.ru