Russian fresh produce imports

Rosselkhoznadzor bans import of tomatoes and apples from Azerbaijan from December 10

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Starting fromDecember 10, the Rosselkhoznadzor banned the import of apples and tomatoes from Azerbaijan to Russia due to the detection of pests in products from this country, the Russian department said.

Earlier, the Rosselkhoznadzor reported to the Food Safety Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan about cases of detection of objects quarantine for the EAEU member states in regulated products that are supplied to Russia.

The department noted that in order to prevent the import and spread of pests in Russia, the Rosselkhoznadzor prohibits the import of tomatoes and apples of Azerbaijani origin into Russia from December 10, 2020.

The Rosselkhoznadzor also clarified that since October 22, 2020, 17 cases of South American tomato moth (Tuta absoluta (Povolny) and eastern moth (Grapholita molesta (Busck)) have been detected in apple and tomatoes from Azerbaijan.

www.tass.ru

Georgia Exported over 7,800 mt of persimmons since start of season

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The Ministry of Environment and Agriculture of Georgia reported that Georgia exported 7,824 mt of persimmons (including the kinglet variety) from 1 August 2020 to 23 November 2020, which is up 14% than a year ago. In monetary terms, persimmons exports amounted to $4.2 million, which is 18% more than last year. Also, “during this period, the export price for persimmons increased by 4%,” the ministry said.

Russia received the most persimmons from Georgia at 3,377 mt (or 43% of the total export of this crop) followed in second place by Ukraine with 2,832 mt among export markets and Armenia in third place with 1,475 mt. Georgian persimmons are also exported to Belarus, Qatar, Moldova, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, and Hungary.

According to official data, Georgia exported roughly 8,000 mt of persimmons in all of 2019. The main sales markets were Armenia (4,300 mt), Ukraine (2,700 mt), and Russia (800 mt). In monetary terms, exports amounted to $4.2 million.

Mass harvesting of persimmons in Georgia usually takes place from the second half of October to the second half of November. Persimmon fruiting in many modern orchards begins in September and continues for several months. Of note is that more than 100 hectares of intensive persimmon orchards were developed with the support of the state project “Plant the Future.”

Persimmons production has been growing in Georgia over the past 3 years. The harvest of persimmon amounted to 8,900 mt in 2017, 10,000 tons in 2018, and 14,300 mt in 2019.

The main regions of Georgia supplying persimmons to the market are the Kakheti region in Eastern Georgia, Imereti and Samegrelo regions in Western Georgia, and the Adjara region.

www.east-fruit.com

The Main Buyer of Bielorussian Potatoes in H1 of 2020 was Ukraine, vegetables – Russia

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According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus, in January-September 2020, the country’s organizations exported agricultural products and food products worth more than $4,2 billion, or 106,1% against the level of the corresponding period of 2019.

The export of crop products amounted to $363,8 million.

The most export-oriented are fresh vegetables – with a share of 44,5% of the total export of crop products, fruits and berries – 29,7%, potatoes – 7,7%, flax fiber – 3,6%.

The geography of export of crop products in January-September 2020 includes 39 countries of the world. The most volumetric supplies traditionally fall on the neighboring countries (the Russian Federation, Ukraine, Moldova, Kazakhstan) and the countries of the European Union (Germany, Lithuania, Poland, France).

Export of fresh vegetables amounted to 248,6 thousand mt. in the amount of $161,7 million. Vegetables were exported to 29 countries of the world, of which 78,5% – to Russia ($126,9 million), to Germany – 6,3% ($10,1 million), Lithuania – 4,9% ($7,9 million), Poland – 3,8% ($6,2 million) and other countries.

For 9 months of this year, 185,2 thousand mt of potatoes were exported to the amount of 27,9 million US dollars. The export geography includes 8 countries (Ukraine – 144,6 thousand mt, Russia – 29,2 thousand mt, Moldova – 10,1 thousand mt and others).

www.en.potatosystem.ru

USDA Russia: Fresh Deciduous Fruit Annual Report

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Apples are one of the most popular and affordable fruits in Russia and with domestic production forecast to decline, imports will rebound in the 2020/2021 MY. Many commercial pear growers are replanting their orchards to apples to take advantage of this growing demand. Russia is the second-largest importer of pears and a major importer of table grapes as local production for these two fresh fruits is insufficient to meet demand. However, imports of pears and table grapes are expected to decline as the economic crisis continues and consumer purchasing power declines.

Since 2014, Russia’s countersanctions have banned fresh apple imports from Europe and the United States. This coupled with extensive support from the Government of Russia for the care and planting of new orchards has propelled investment in horticulture in recent years. In 2019, the Government of Russia financed a 311 billion Ruble (US$ 4.2 billion) support program for Russian agriculture.

Despite all this, several factors continue to constrain the development of Russia’s horticultural sector. First and foremost, Russia’s horticultural industry still lacks productive plant material. The Ministry of Agriculture estimates that in 2018 Russia produced around 24 million plants (including 15 million seed fruit plants). At the same time, Russia imported 25 million plants in 2018 and 21 million plants during the first six months of 2019. Very few nursery farms cultivate planting material for commercial orchards, and as a result, the quality of the planting material in Russia remains inadequate in terms of yields, winter resistance, and drought and disease tolerance.

As the ruble continues to weaken, Russian horticultural producers continue to face very high costs for importing planting stock, and other related items for cultivation, such as crop protection agents, technology, and equipment. A lack of qualified agronomists is another factor holding back the industry.

The current Russian trend of eating healthy has led to greater fruit consumption. Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, more people are paying attention to their health and eating patterns are increasingly favoring natural, healthier foods. According to analysts, the demand for vegetables and fruits increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the consumption of fruit is closely connected with household income and market prices. Russian disposable income has been declining since 2014, although there was some growth in 2018 and 2019, it is expected to drop again. In 2020, the decline in disposable income is forecast at 3 percent, according to the Ministry of Economic Development.

Full USDA report, containing information on the Russian harvest, import and consumption of apples, pear and grapes.

Republic of Georgia: Fruit and Nut Exports Soaring

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According to the National Statistics Service of Georgia (Geostat), the volume of exports of fruits and nuts from Georgia amounted to $69.68 million in value, from January through August 2020. The share of fruits and nuts in Georgia’s total exports for the reported period amounted to 3.4%.

The major part of exports accounted for hazelnuts – $28.30 million, peaches, including nectarines – $20.07 million, tangerines – $3.84 million, blueberries and other berries – $3.79 million, bananas – $2.28 million, oranges – $1.82 million, apples – $1.63 million, lemons – $1.15 million and figs – $950,000.

Compared to the same period last year, the export of fruits increased by 45.2%. In the first six months of 2019, the volume of exports of fruits and nuts amounted to $29.19 million. Their share in the total volume of Georgian exports was 1.6%.

Georgia exported 19,86 mt of apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, and sloes to Russia in a total amount of $19.3 million from January through September 2020.

From January through September 2020, the foreign trade turnover between Georgia and Russia exceeded $934.6 million, which comprises 11.5% of the total trade turnover of Georgia.

During the reporting period, Georgia exported products worth $308.6 million to the Russian market, which is 12.8% of total exports.

www.freshplaza.com