French parliament debated about the extension of European sanctions against Russia. Voting indicated that a majority is opposed to the sanctions. The centre right party that requested the debate carried a motion to stop the sanctions. The French parliament only had indirect influence on the decision. European heads of government have to decide on the sanctions next month.
Russian Food Ban
Morocco profits from boycott
Morocco profits the most from the Russian boycott of Turkish fruits and vegetables, according to Russian media. According to reports, the North African country is the most important supplier of tomatoes and oranges. The country supposedly has a market share of 55.6 per cent in citrus, 30.2 per cent in vegetables and 25.7 per cent specifically in tomatoes.
France debates lifting sanctions
This week the French parliament will tackle whether sanctions against Russia need to be extended or not. The initiative for the debate comes from the centre-right party. It is the first time parliamentarians will speak out on the sanctions.
Fruit prices in Russia have increased almost by 60% for 2 years
According to Rosstat prices for fruit in Russia have risen by 59.2 per cent since the boycott. Between July 2014 and March 2016, when the sanctions were imposed, fruit prices have risen by nearly 60 per cent. Prices for vegetables and frozen fish have also risen. The largest increase in prices was registered during the first months after the boycott was introduced. Prices have stabilised for now.
Russian fruit and veg imports fell last year
In the first three quarters of last year, Russians imported a total of 4,791 million tonnes of fruits and vegetables, of which 3,816 million tonnes corresponded to fruits and the other 975 thousand tonnes to vegetables.
For comparison, in the corresponding nine months of 2014, fruit and vegetable imports totalled 5,965 million tonnes, while the volume for the entire year 2014 reached 7,934 million tonnes.
Of the 4,791 million tonnes imported between January and the end of September 2015, the largest share corresponded to bananas, with 889 thousand tonnes, followed by apples, with 618.2 thousand tonnes, tomatoes, with 535.1 thousand tonnes, mandarins, with 328.3 thousand tonnes, oranges, with more than 325 thousand tonnes, and onions, with slightly less than 260 thousand tonnes.
The largest exporter to the Russian market in the first nine months of last year was Ecuador, which provided essentially 100% of all bananas imported by Russia, with 876.8 thousand tonnes. In second place we found Belarus, with 817.7 thousand tonnes, Turkey, with 766.8 thousand tonnes, China, with 448.8 thousand tonnes, Egypt, with 321.7 thousand tonnes, and Israel, with about 209.0 thousand tonnes.
Syrian fruit and veg arrive on Russian retailer shelves
The first shipments of Syrian fruits and vegetables, bound, in part, to replace the Turkish products covered by the import ban, have started arriving to Russia, as reported by the importer Adyg-Jurak to the newspaper Kommersant.
“Syrian fruits and Vegetables are already being delivered by Adyg-Jurak to the wholesale and retail firm Food City. Talks are also underway with other large Russian retailers,” informs the magazine.
CEO Aslan Panesz said that last week marked the arrival to the port of Novorossiysk of the second batch of oranges, lemons, grapefruit, tomatoes and cabbage, with a total weight of about 3 thousand tonnes.
During the delivery of the first batch, some problems occurred, as about 1.2 thousand tonnes of food stayed in the port for more than 10 days because of issues in the customs documents, with the result that some of the products spoiled. During the unloading of the second batch, these problems have been solved.
Currently, products are on the shelves of Moscow’s wholesale-retail center Food City and several wholesale centre in the south of Russia.
Russian retailers are also beginning to purchase Syrian fruit and vegetables. In April, Metro Cash&Carry is going to sell Syrian pomegranates (2 MT), cauliflower (4MT), pepper (20 MT), eggplants (10 MT) and eggplants. Since this is the first shipment of fruits and vegetables from Syria, the company imported small volumes for analysis of the demand for these products. According to Metro Cash & Carry representative, the retailer sell 300 MT of fruits and vegetables per day on average.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, since the beginning of the year to March 13, food import from Syria to Russia amounted to $ 2,389, the total amount of deliveries – about 5,000 MT. Food export from Syria to Russia rose by almost 3 times during one year.
Russian food ban will not lifted until the sanctions against Russia are in effect
The EU has extended the sanctions against 146 Russians and inhabitants of the segregated East Ukrainian regions, and against 37 organizations, by six months. As a response to the extension, the Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev repeated his earlier words: the boycott will only be lifted when the sanctions by the Europeans are also lifted. “They (Russia’s countermeasures) will come to an end sooner or later,” the prime minister told press agency Tass. “That’s for sure. But of course we will keep the measures in force as long as there’s external pressure. There shouldn’t be any false hope in that respect.” He also warned that Russia will react if the European sanctions are extended. Finally, the prime minister said the Russian government will keep supporting the agricultural sector.
At the same time, smuggling of fruit and vegetables from boycotted countries to Russia is continuing. In response, Russia frequently intercepts products that don’t meet the import requirements. Destruction awaits for products from boycotted countries. Products from other countries that do not meet the requirements are generally sent back. An overview from last week: 105 MT (pears, onions, dried fruit, pepper, grapefruit and wheat flour) from China, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan was sent back because the accompanying documents weren’t in order, according to Rosselkhoznadzor.
A shipment of tomatoes from Turkey was discovered in the Voronezh region. The products were taken off the market. At the checkpoint in the Chelyabinsk region, 345 kilos of Italian kiwis were intercepted. The kiwis were destroyed. 40 tonnes of radish from Kazakhstan were sent back due to violation of the phytosanitary rules. In the Orenburg region, the inspection found 33,224 kilos of Turkish tomatoes with the wrong labels. The tomatoes were destroyed. More than 700 tonnes of Polish apples were intercepted. The apples were destroyed. A shipment of 20 tonnes of apples of which the country of origin was unclear, was destroyed. The inspection found 19.5 tonnes of tomatoes from Spain. The tomatoes were also destroyed.
Russia wants Dominican fruit and veg
The Dominican Minister of Agriculture, Ángel Estévez, received a delegation from the Russian Federation to discuss trade matters related to the purchase of Dominican fruit for export.
The Russian delegation expressed its interest in buying tropical fruits for processing and freezing so that they can be exported to that country without any loss in their properties, as they are considered as the best in terms of both taste and aroma by consumers worldwide.
They confirmed their interest in buying organic cocoa, mangoes, avocados and other fruits, as well as some vegetables, to pack and ship them to Russia and other nations in the region.
The Russian delegation’s members were Elena Lanskikh, Anatoly Musauv, Marina Ustinova and Elena Alekhina, who served as interpreter during the meeting.
How sanctions influenced export from Denmark to Russia
According to Denmark’s Statistics Department (“Danmarks Statistik”), in 2014, exports from Denmark to Russia amounted to $1,414.6 million, that is 26.2% less than in 2013 the year when Danish exports amounted to $1,918.0 million. In 2015, the Danish exports to Russia fell by 46.2% compared to 2014 and by 60.3% compared to 2013 and totaled $761.6 million.
Faroe Islands and Greenland, which are integral parts of the Danish Realm, are self-governing countries, that is why they were not included into the list of the countries from which Russia banned importing some kind of agricultural products in August 2014. Hence, since the sanctions were introduced, import from these territories increased, mainly this concerned fish and seafood.
According to the Russian customs statistics, export to Russia from the Faroe Islands in 2015 grew by 60.3% up to $277.2 million. 99.99% of deliveries from the Faroe Islands in the total volume of exported products in 2015 is fish and seafood. Exports to Russia from Greenland in 2015 grew by 136.2% up to $58.8 million, that is 41 times more than in 2013. Almost 100% of products exported from Greenland to Russia is fish and seafood.
Russia banning Moldovan fruit and veg imports through Belarus
From 14 March, Russia will be prohibiting the importation of plant products from Moldova through Belarus, as reported by the Rosselkhoznadzor. The decision has been adopted after inspections revealed that Moldovan companies were allegedly supplying Russia with “unregulated products”.
The Rosselkhoznadzor recalled that, following the decision to allow the supply of plant products last year, there was a “sharp increase in the traffic” of products from Moldova to Russia “with complex logistical routes” through Belarus; the Office suspects that these may actually be re-exports from countries that are currently affected by the embargo.
Now Moldovan fruits and vegetables can only be imported through the border points located in Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk, i.e., on the border with Ukraine.
It is worth recalling that, on 21 July 2014, the Rosselkhoznadzor banned Moldovan fruit exports to Russia. Officially, the decision was taken because of irregularities in the products’ condition and the presence of the Eastern moth, although it happened after Moldova signed the EU Association Agreement for the establishment of a free trade zone.
After seven months, however, the agency allowed the import of Moldovan apples from a few selected companies.