Russian Food Ban

Negotiations of Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance and Swiss Embassy

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Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) initiated the meeting with the Swiss Embassy. Maxim Gninenko, Deputy Head of Directorate for Phytosanitary Surveillance, Seed Control and Grain Quality, stated that after the introduction of Russian food ban from the EU, USA and some other countries, export from Switzerland to Russia has doubled on average, as for apples, export of apples has increased by 400%. In this regard, Rosselkhoznadzor suspects that not all of the products imported from Switzerland are of Swiss origins; and it is necessary to find out the real origins of the exported products.

Rosselkhoznadzor sent inquiries to the Swiss authorities regarding the volumes of certain types of vegetables and fruits produced in the country, as well as to confirm the authenticity of the phytosanitary certificates. Rosselhoznadzor would get this information within ten days after the negotiations, avoiding the introduction of protective restrictive measures at the moment.

In turn, the counselor of the Swiss Embassy expressed readiness to assist in the inquiries. He stressed that Switzerland is proud of its neutrality and is ready to maintain its business relationships with Russia.

www.fsvps.ru

Export of apples from Bosnia to Russia increased by 100 times

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In the first nine months of 2014, apple imports from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Russia increased by 100 times, according to Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselhoznadzor). The office suspected another Balkan country in the illegal re-export of banned products from the EU and now threatens to suspend deliveries of Bosnian fruit to Russia.

Rosselkhoznadzor may ban the import of fruits and vegetables from Bosnia and Herzegovina into Russia, if there is no explanation of the increase in exports from that country. This is stated in the message on the Rosselkhoznadzor site.

Rosselkhoznadzor note that shipments of banned products from Bosnia and Herzegovina to Russia has tripled; and imports of apples increased by 100 times for the first nine months of 2014. Rosselkhoznadzor experts doubt the authenticity of the phytosanitary certificates that accompany consignments.

Rosselkhoznadzor required that the Bosnian companies would present conclusions about the authenticity of a number of phytosanitary certificates for one week. Also, Rosselhoznadzor demanded to send the information about the ranges and volumes of fruits and vegetables grown in 2014 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

www.top.rbc.ru

 

Pears getting more expensive in St. Petersburg

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The devaluation of the ruble influenced the price increase for imported pears on wholesale warehouses of St. Petersburg. Last week, the wholesale price for pears have increased by 15% at least and are continuing to rise.

This week, pears from Serbia costs 65-80 rub./kg ($1,31-1,55 per kg), depending on the variety, while a week earlier this production was sold not more than 60-71 rub./kg ($1,39-1,74 per kg).

The same situation is with Moroccan pears. The last week, pears from Morocco cost 66-73 rub./kg ($1.44-1.59 per kg), today the price is 75-80 rub./kg ($1,63-1,74 per kg).

The Russian consumers began saving money, so the consumption of pears is declining and if the price continues to grow, the consumption of pears may decrease even more. Importers think that further devaluation of the ruble against the euro and the dollar will lead to a sharp drop in the volume of imports of pears in Russia.

www.freshmarket.ru

Russians are saving on food, clothes and entertainment

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Consumers are saving on food, clothes and entertainment, choosing less expensive products. 75% of the respondents are going to save on New Year presents and food. However, 9% are investing money in expensive goods such as electric devices, home utensils or real estate.
70% said that they had revised their spending patterns, 40% began to buy less expensive goods.
People are adapting to the inflation, the share of budget spent on food is growing, therefore, the share of money spent on non-food products is decreasing.
The forecasts of the official economists for the next year are not optimistic either.

www.retailer.ru

 

Volga Group purchased 40% of Alma Group Company

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Volga Group Company has acquired 40% of the shares of Alma Group, the company specializing in cultivation of apples. Other shares still belong to the founder of the company, Jean-Claude Mann.

Production facilities of Alma Group are located in Abinsk (Krasnodar region), where the company operates on over 800 hectares of land. There are refrigeration units and warehouses, processing and sorting factories, owned by the company. In 2013, the production output exceeded 6,800 MT of apples. Nevertheless, the company plans to increase production up to 12,000 MT of apples per year. Moreover, the range of fruit and vegetables is likely to be expanded.

This is our first asset in the agricultural sector. I am sure this investment will contribute to the development of the company, – has said the shareholder of Volga Group Gennady Timchenko.

Volga Group is 100% owned by Gennady Timchenko, combines his assets in Russia and abroad. Timchenko owns 23% of Novatek, 15.3% of SIBUR, 80% of Transoil, 63% of Stroytransgaz, 30% of Kolmar, and other assets.

www.freshplaza.com

Serbia increased the shipments of the apples to the Russian market almost by 6 times

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According to industry experts, Serbia has increased the shipments of the apples to the Russian market almost by 6 times since the beginning of the season.

According to the Russian Federal Statistics Service, in the first two months of the season 2014/15 Serbia shipped to Russia more than 8,000 tons of apple, while during July-August 2013, the shipment of apples from Serbia to Russia amounted to 1,400 tons.

According to the experts, Serbia managed to increase supplies to the Russian market mostly due to the Russian food ban as a substitute for apples from Poland and Moldova. The experts do not exclude that Serbia has a chance to become one of the main suppliers of apple on the Russian market provided that the ban will continue.

www.freshmarket.ru