Russian Fruit Market

Russia is the World’s Fourth Largest Banana Consumer

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Russia ranks 4th in the world in terms of banana consumption per person per year, and banana imports to Russia are forecast to continue to grow in the coming years. This was reported by Clinton Machado, head of Maersk’s Banana and Pineapple Shipping Division, at the 17th International Banana Convention.

Latin America remains the main banana exporter. The combined share of all supplies from Latin American countries is 73% of all exports. Most of the bananas grown in Latin America are exported to the United States and Europe.

“In 2019, global banana exports reached 20 million tons, up 5% compared to 2018. The Philippines and Ecuador remain the largest banana exporters in the world,” said Clinton Machado.

The main importing countries of Philippine bananas are China and Japan, but exports to these countries decreased slightly in 2019 due to the opening of trade between China and Cambodia. According to the Ministry of Agriculture of Cambodia, the export of bananas to China during the first five months of 2020 amounted to 121 thousand tons, and by 2021 the country plans to double the volume shipped.

“According to the forecasts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the world’s banana production will increase to 126 million tons by 2029,” Clinton Machado added.

India is the world’s largest banana producer, but most Indian bananas are intended for the domestic market. According to Clinton Machado, government investment in the industry has allowed Indian producers to export more of their products, and if this initiative is successful, India will be able to supply bananas to the Middle East and Mediterranean regions.

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China Becomes Russia’s Biggest Fresh Produce Market

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Data from the Agricultural Export Center of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture show that as of September 20, Russia exported 2.67 billion US dollars worth of produce to China, experiencing an increase of 27% over the same period last year. China is the largest buyer of Russian produce, accounting for 14% of total agricultural exports from Russia.

At the same time, China is also actively exporting produce to Russia. In early September, 906 tons of fresh vegetables were successfully shipped to the Zabaikal region. Fresh vegetables exported to Russia include eggplants, radishes, cucumbers, and zucchini. 275 tons of fresh garlic, 400 tons of peppers, 132 tons of onions, 44 tons of carrots, and 33 tons of ginger were exported.

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Russia Considering Reduction of VAT on Fruit

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The Russian Ministry of Agriculture has proposed the introduction of tax incentives for Russian fruit producers. According to the head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Alexander Tkachev, the reduction of VAT by eight percentage points would reduce the flow of imported fruit into Russia. According to the Ministry, agricultural product prices have every chance of falling by more than 15% by the end of September, and “in five years we could be able to stop the import of basic fruits, like apples, pears and grapes.”

Currently Russia buys several varieties of seasonal grapes from the former USSR republic of Uzbekistan, as well as in Latin America (Chile and Argentina). The purchase of apples is made in Serbia, Moldova and Belarus. Pears on Russian shelves come mostly from Lebanon, Morocco and Turkey. In the first six months of 2017, the country was supplied with about 500,000 MT of apples, which is 30% less than in the same period last year.

Russians are now consuming fewer imported fruits and vegetables, according to the Ministry of Agriculture. In fact, after the ban on the import of agricultural products from the European Union, the share of foreign fruits delivered to Russia declined by more than 50%, while the acreage in the country has increased by more than 40% over the last two harvesting seasons.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2016, a total of 14,600 hectares of new plantations were set up. In the same year, the Russian authorities allocated about 2.2 billion roubles for investment projects aimed at expanding the acreage. The cost of setting up one hectare can vary from 400 thousand to 3.5 million roubles, depending on the terrain and varieties planted. In 2017, the area of ​​new plantations will reach 15,600 hectares.

The potential to reduce prices for fruit and vegetable products in Russia in the coming months is about 15%, according to the authors of the report “Inflationary picture in July”. In the summer months, vegetables and fruits have already become 7.5% cheaper.

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Fruit and Veg Prices Expected to Fall by 80% in September

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The Russian Ministry of Economic Development has forecast that Russians will soon see a significant drop in food product prices. In September, compared with June, the cost of fruits and vegetables may fall by almost 80%.

In the first month of autumn, compared to the first summer month, the overall decline in food prices will be 1.3%. This forecast has been made by specialists of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, as reported last week by the newspaper Izvestia, which got a letter from the department regarding the socio-economic development of the Russian Federation in the coming years.

According to this information, the decline in prices for fruit and vegetables in September compared with June will reach 79.6%. In the autumn of 2018, prices for all food products will not differ much from the prices of the current autumn, the forecast says.

The agricultural producers interviewed by the publication agree with the conclusions of the experts of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade.

“The Ministry of Agriculture reported that this year’s harvest is quite good, so the products will really fall in price. Every September, it is more profitable to purchase not only fruits and vegetables, but also mushrooms, as well as fresh red caviar, which hits the shelves at that time,” explained the industry representative to the newspaper.

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Egyptian Fruit & Veg Exports to Russia Increase by 28%

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Minister of Industry and Trade Tarek Kabil said that the inter-trade between Egypt and Russia had witnessed a tangible improvement for the first time since 2014.

Egyptian exports to the country during the first half (H1) of 2017 amounted to about $360m compared to $286m, meaning that Egyptian exports to Russia jumped 26% after a decline ranging between 16 and 25% during the past two years.

Kabil attributed this significant improvement in the volume of exports to the intensive promotional efforts carried out by the ministry and its success in lifting the ban on agricultural exports and Egyptian potatoes, as well as solving all problems that Egyptian exporters faced.

A report was sent by the Russian trade office to Kabil, in which was outlined the indicators of the performance of foreign trade with Russia during the H1 2017. The report showed that Egyptian vegetables and fresh fruit exports witnessed a significant increase, reaching about $303.8m during H1 2017 compared to 236.2m during the same period in 2016—an increase of 28.6%.

Egyptian exports of agricultural crops also increased 28.8%. Fresh strawberries increased by 43.7%, fresh potatoes 159.5% and onions 29.8%.

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Russia imported 1.5 million tons produce less during first half of 2016

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Russian import of fresh fruits and vegetables decreased sharply during the first half of this year. During the first half of 2015, 20 per cent less was imported already, due to the import ban implemented in August 2014. This year it was another 16 per cent less. In total, due to the boycott of import from the EU and a number of other countries, one-third less fresh fruits and vegetables were imported during the first half of this year. This amounts to at least 1.5 million tons.

The boycott of Turkey was added this year. Poland and Turkey are most affected by the boycott. From January to June this year, 500,000 tons less fresh produce was imported in Russia from both countries compared with the first half of 2014. Compared with last year, losses for Turkey were even bigger. The import ban was not yet in effect for that country then, it was implemented 1 January of this year.

The Netherlands and Spain exported about 175,000 tons of fresh produce just before the boycott during the first half of 2014. Belgium was also an important supplier for Russia before the boycott.

It is striking that import from a number of countries not affected by the boycott also decreased sharply during the first half of 2016. Some examples are Israel (64,000 tons less than in Jan-Jun 2014), China (35,000 tons less), Morocco (34,000 tons less) and Argentina (27,000 tons less). It should be noted for Morocco that during the first half of this year a recovery was noticeable compared to the first half of last year.

After implementing the boycott a lot of fresh produce was imported by Russia via Belarus. This amounted to at least 1.1 million tons for all of 2015. The results of the boycott were less severe because of that. During the first half of 2016, the amount of import in Russia via Belarus sharply decreased. In total, 290,000 tons, compared to 600,000 tons in the first half of 2015, was imported by Russia from January to June this year. Mostly apples, pears and tomatoes were sent to Russia via Belarus during the first half of the year.

Egypt profited most from the boycott. During the first half of 2016, 360,000 tons of fresh produce were imported from Egypt. That is nearly 100,000 tons more than in 2014. The products imported most were oranges and onions. Serbia also profited from the boycott. Apples were imported either from or via Serbia, for the most part. The other countries profiting from the boycott are mostly former Soviet republics.

Interestingly, the import of the most important import product, bananas, reached record sizes during the first half of this year. From January to June, at least 745,000 tons of bananas were imported. These come almost exclusively from Ecuador. The second import product was apples during the first half of 2016. Import only amounted to 360,000 tons, compared with 860,000 tons during the first half of 2013, and 740,000 tons during the first half of 2014. During the first half of this year, 325,000 tons of tomatoes were imported, compared to 600,000 tons before the boycott was implemented. The import of pears decreased from 360,000 tons during the first half of 2014 to 150,000 tons during the same period this year. The decrease of oranges remained limited. Other products whose decrease remained limited, or which even increased, were grapefruit, sweet cherries, garlic, apricots and plums.

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Russia: pear imports down month-on-month in May

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Russia lowered pear imports by 37.5% in May 2014 compared with the previous month, according to the official statistics.

Thus, the import volumes totaled just 31,000 tons, the lowest result over the past 5 years and a decrease of 18% year-on-year.

Russia’s cumulative imports over the period from July 2013 to May 2014 stood at 355,000 tons, an increase of 4% compared with the same period of the previous season. The Netherlands were the main supplier of pears to the Russian market with the share of about 25% in Russia’s total imports. Argentina and Belgium also exported significant volumes, and their shares amounted to 17% each.

www.fruit-inform.com

Russian growers start new apple campaign

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Apple growers from Krasnodar Krai, Russia, have started harvesting early apples this week. The start of the season was almost similar to last year’s date. Geneva Early variety accounts for the largest share in sales now.

First volumes of early apples are offered at RUB 30-45/kg (EUR 0.62-0.93/kg), an increase of 14% compared with the same period of the previous season.

Growers say that harvesting activities are complicated by rains. Thus the supply is significantly lower year-on-year, and prices have gone up compared with last year.

www.fruit-inform.com

Kubanskiy Vineyards Plan To Collect Around 200,000 Tonnes Of Grapes

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Oleg Tolmachev, head of the department of viticulture, wine and spirits industry of the Krasnodar Region, announced that the area expects to collect about 200,000 tonnes of grapes this year, flat on the year.

“I have every reason to say that the prognosis is very positive. We expect to surpass the average annual harvest of grapes, which has occurred over the last ten years. Although, of course, a lot will depend on the weather this summer,” Tolmachev said, as quoted by the publication Interfax.

A Kuban official also noted that the grapes planted this winter survived without any damage.

“Today the grapes only just started to spring up, and flowering went well. And if we are to look at the whole picture, we expect to collect in the range of 200, 000 tonnes of ‘amber’ Fruit – at the same level as last year, which was a very successful year and an above average long-term performance,” Tolachev added.

www.fruitnews.info

Russia plans to expand vinery areas

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In Kuban Abrau-Durso a meeting session took place on May 27th where Dmitry Medvedev encharged the Government with a task to develop and to launch a campaign for Russian winegrowing upholding and development.

Also the ministry said in the official comment that they had come to a decision to actualize government upholding actions towards grape production, scientific researches in this sphere, and to increase the square of vineries up to 140 000 hectares by 2020.

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