Ukraine has been reducing apple exports to the Russian Federation for the fourth season in a row. Despite high production in the season 2012/13, Ukraine exported just 17,000 tons of apples to Russia, a decrease of 32% year-on-year and the lowest result ever. For comparison, Russian importers purchased 25,000 tons of Ukrainian apples in the season 2011/12.
Ukraine’s apple exports fell due to Russia’s accession to the WTO, which had led to lower import duties on European produce. In connection with that, Ukrainian apples’ competitiveness in the Russian market has sharply decreased.
In such a way, Ukraine ranked just tenth in Russia’s total apple imports in the season 2012/13. The Russian Federation still remains the main export market for Ukrainian apple suppliers.
Source: www.fruit-inform.com