Turkey sanctions

Russia Says it Will not Reopen its Tomatoes Market to Turkish Imports

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Russia does not intend to open up its market for tomatoes to Turkish growers, despite losing up to $1.5 billion from a trade dispute with Ankara, Russian Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said on Wednesday.

Turkey has effectively put purchases of wheat, maize (corn) and sunflower from Russia on hold by imposing high import tariffs last month.

Russian market players believe the move was in retaliation for Moscow’s decision not to restore a visa-free regime with Ankara and resume purchases of tomatoes after the two countries improved ties last year, having fallen out over the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet in 2015.

“We do not plan to open the tomato market, (we) will support, above all, the domestic producers,” Tkachev said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV on Wednesday.

Russia has been actively supporting domestic production of vegetables and tomatoes since it banned most Western food imports in 2014 in retaliation for Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its involvement in Ukraine’s internal conflict.

“This is essential to us. The development of vegetable production has been our prestige in the recent years,” Tkachev said, adding that Moscow would get rid of the sector deficit in up to five years.

Russia was one of the key markets for Turkish tomatoes and bought several hundred million dollars worth each year.

That compares with between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion which Moscow, according to Tkachev’s estimate, is losing from the effective suspension of agricultural exports to Turkey.

www.af.reuters.com

Turkish Tomatoes Suspected to Be Reaching Russia via Georgia

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Turkish tomatoes are suspected to be reaching Russia via Georgia, as reported by the Russian newspaper Izvestia, although the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) has said that they cannot prove it.

“We have no confirmed cases of re-exports of Georgian tomatoes from Turkey. It is difficult to find such supplies. If all documents are in order, it is impossible, in the case of Georgia, to determine where the products were grown,” said the press secretary of the Rosselkhoznadzor, Yuliya Melano.

Indirect evidence suggests that Georgia has increased its purchases of Turkish tomatoes fourfold; at the same time, the volume of Georgian tomatoes shipped to Russia has also grown considerably.

The ban on the import of Turkish fruits and vegetables to Russia, in force since 1 January 2016, was party lifted for citrus fruits, but tomatoes are still subject to it. Turkey itself is unable to find alternative markets for its tomatoes, while consumers in Russia are experiencing shortages.

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Moscow Extends Turkish Food Ban in Response to Heavy Tax on Russian Agriculture

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Russia will not lift the import ban on Turkish vegetables, fruit, and meat, according to agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor. Last week, Turkey imposed stiff tariffs on Russian wheat and corn, making exports unprofitable.

According to watchdog spokeswoman Yulia Melano, “the issue of full or partial removal of restrictions on Turkish fruit and vegetable products for the Russian market should be discussed in conjunction with the removal of counter restrictions on Russian products from the Turkish side.”

Last week, the Russian media reported that Turkey had imposed a 130 percent tariff on wheat, corn and sunflower meal that is making deliveries highly unprofitable for local businesses.

Turkey’s Trade Ministry denied the reports, but a representative of the Russian trade mission in Ankara said Turkey had excluded Russia from a list of countries with zero rates of customs duties. Turkey is the second largest buyer of Russian wheat after Egypt.

Russia will keep the ban on Turkish frozen meat and poultry as well as tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, apples, pears, strawberries and other fruit and vegetables.

In March, Rosselkhoznadzor lifted the restrictions against Turkish onions, cauliflower, broccoli and some other vegetables, explaining there is a lack of these food items in Russia.

Food imports from Turkey were blocked in response to the downing of a Russian jet in Syria in November 2015. There were other restrictions, including the cancellation of charter flights to Turkey, the introduction of a visa regime, and a ban on hiring Turkish citizens. At the request of the Kremlin, Russian travel agencies suspended sales of package tours to the country.

Moscow-Ankara relations began to improve after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apologized over the jet incident. Russia lifted the flight ban, but the food ban has remained.

www.rt.com

Russia Ignores Turkish Request to Lift More Products from Boycott

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Last week, Russia lifted the boycott of a number of Turkish products, including cauliflower, broccoli and onions. However, for a number of products, such as tomatoes, apples, pears and cucumbers, the boycott remains in effect. On Monday, the Turkish government requested to also lift the sanctions on the remaining products. Ankara wants to increase exports to Russia by 100 billion dollar per year.

The Russian phytosanitary service, however, is in no hurry, and has disregarded the request. “These restrictions, that are still in place, will remain in place and we are not planning to lift them. And especially not in the near future,” Yulia Melano, spokesperson of the organisation, told the Russian press agency, Tass.

It was announced by the Ministry of Economic Development that lifting the sanctions last week had no effect on price developments in Russia. Although allowing products such as cauliflower, broccoli and onions will have consequences for the price developments of these specific products, their market share is too small to influence general trends.

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Trade Turnover between Turkey & Russia up for First Time in Three Years

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The trade turnover between Turkey and Russia in January this year rose for the first time since 2014, reports the agency Anadolu, citing the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK).

In January 2017, the value of Turkey’s exports to Russia increased by 59.1% to $150 million. During this period, the revenue generated by Turkish fruit and vegetable exports to Russia rose to nearly $38 million due to the partial removal of restrictions on the export of Turkish oranges and mandarins.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s imports from Russia in January rose by 10.2% – from 1.3 billion to 1.5 billion dollars. Most of these shipments corresponded to energy (almost 832 million) and steel (279 million dollars).

Trade turnover between Russia and Turkey had decreased since 2014.

The embargo on Turkey, affecting a wide range of vegetables and fruits, as well as raw meat and flowers, was introduced by Russia on 1 January 2016 in response to a Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter jet shooting down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24M in Syria. In October 2016, the Russian government decided to readmit a number of Turkish products, including stonefruits and citrus. Grapes, apples, pears, strawberries, tomatoes, onions and shallots, cauliflower, broccoli and cucumbers are still banned.

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Russia not in a Hurry to Lift Sanctions on Turkey

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Russia is in no hurry to lift the boycott on Turkish products. “There are no plans to lift the boycott in the near future,” said Sergey Dankvert of Russian phytosanitary watchdog, Rossekhoznadzor, to Sputnik News.

“The import of a number of products is already allowed. The other products are boycotted by us and by the Russian government,” according to Sergey in pro-Russian media. “There will not be a massive opening for Turkish companies on the Russian market.” However, the boycotted products still find their way to the Russian market via detours, through Mali and Uganda, for example.

In 2016, Russia boycotted a number of products after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter plane. After the Turkish government apologised in the summer of 2016, the process of reconciliation was started. Russia has already lifted a number of the sanctions, but not all. For example, in October the trade in dried oranges, tangerines, peaches, nectarines and plums was started again. The export of other products, such as tomatoes, apples, strawberries, courgettes and pumpkins is still not allowed.

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Illegally Turkish Imported Vegetables into Russia

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A batch of Turkish cucumbers and vegetables, which were labeled as Armenian, have been destroyed by Russian authorities. The batch hadn’t been documented by the state service for food safety and didn’t receive a phytosanitary certificate. The batch of illegally imported vegetables were discovered by food inspection authorities in Russia.

“We also clarified that it was discovered in a retail network rather on the border, meaning theoretically I do not rule out the possibility that something might have been sold under an Armenian label, taking into account that the Armenian production is prestigious in terms of quality”, she said.

No evidence has of yet been release confirming the claim that the vegetables were indeed from Armenia. The total volume of the vegetables illegally imported were 6,083 kg, composed of cucumbers and tomatoes. Since the importers didn’t have the proper food safety forms the Russian authorities were forced to destroy the batch.

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More Greenhouse Vegetables in Russia

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Russian greenhouse complexes continue to increase the gross harvest of vegetables, according to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation. The total yield of greenhouse vegetable as of November 29 amounted to 607,100 MT in the whole country, which is 31% more than the year before. In particular, the yield of cucumber increased by 23% and amounted to 409,400 MT. Total harvest of tomatoes amounted to 182,500 tons, which is 53% more than the same period last year.

The Ministry of Agriculture suggests postponing lifting the ban for Turkish tomatoes import until 2018-19 to protect Russian tomatoes production. After the ban, tomatoes production increased by 35%.  Just to compare, in 2012 Russian tomatoes had the share of the market 17% and in 2016 it is expected to be 40%.

www.fruit-inform.com

 

Turkey Expects Russia to Lift Ban on Five More Fruit and Veg

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Ankara expects Moscow to soon lift the ban on the import of five types of Turkish plant products – pomegranates, aubergines, peppers, courgettes and lettuce, as stated by the Minister of Agriculture on Monday.

Faruk Çelik, the Turkish Minister of Agriculture, said that another 11 kinds of Turkish plant products would remain banned. “With regard to them, the Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Alexander Tkachev, said that a decision would be made during the visit of Prime Minister Binali Yildirim to Russia (5-6 December),” stated the Minister.

The improvement in Turkish-Russian relations have already ensured an increase in the export of Turkish fruit and vegetables. Compared to the same period a year previously, the Turkish export of tangerines has increased by 41 per cent. With that, export amounted to 90,211 tonnes. The export of oranges increased by 27 per cent to 26,000 tonnes. Last year, between 19 October and 16 November, Turkey exported 63,794 tonnes of tangerines and 20,713 tonnes of oranges, amounting to a total value of 43 million dollar. During the same period this year, Turkey earned over 44 million dollar through the export of tangerines alone.

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Russia lifts ban on some Turkish farm imports

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October 11, The Russian government on Tuesday lifted a ban on some food imports from Turkey, imposed last year after Turkey downed a Russian warplane near the Syrian border, in the latest sign of a warming in ties with Ankara.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the decision to end the ban on Monday in Istanbul, where the two countries agreed to build an undersea gas pipeline to Turkey.

A government decree said Russia had lifted the ban on imports of fresh and dried oranges, tangerines and other citrus fruit, as well as apricots, peaches and plums.

Both sides have since made significant progress to mend relations and agreed to revive trade relations in July after President Tayyip Erdogan expressed regret over the shooting-down of the Russian plane.

www.uk.reuters.com