Greeks ask Moscow to lower gas price
Tsipras withdraws support EU sanctions
Greek prime minister Tsipras told Russian media that he no longer supports the European sanctions against Russia. He has reportedly also announced his point of view to the EU. "We do not agree with the sanctions, they lead nowhere," the Greek prime minister reportedly said. Within the EU, Greece is bickering with the other member states and European organizations about economic reform. Tsipras has been seeking rapprochement with Russia for a while now, just like several other EU member state. Greek newspapers report that Moscow has already decided to lift the boycott against Greece, Romania and Cyprus. Meanwhile, Tsipras will pay several visits to Moscow in the near future. Next week, an official visit is planned, and in May, the Greek prime minister will be present at the commemoration of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany. "It's spring in the Greek-Russian relations," Tsipras said.
Serbia prosecutes smugglers
Russian authorities confirmed to Polish media that the boycott of Serbian fruit is off. Serbia has been using improved control systems since March 2, in order to address illegal re-export. In this new system, the phytosanitary certificates have to be sent to Russia before the products are shipped. Serbian customs reports it is prosecuting a dozen companies suspected of exporting Polish apples to Russia with forged certificates.
Polish greenhouse builder starts work in Russia
New export markets hard to find
According to Sebastian Sadowski-Romanov, CEO of Polish ITRO, finding new markets is difficult for European exporters. "Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine accounted for 85% of soft fruit sales." Due to the crisis in Ukraine and Russia's closed borders, only the smaller market in Belarus remains. Kazakhstan is a bigger markets, but the distance is too great for soft fruit. "As with apples, we can try to find access to new markets in China, India, Canada and the Arab Emirates, but strawberries can only reach those markets by air freight." Finally, Sebastian points out that although there are many reports of the Polish ministry looking for new markets, this is a long process.
Asian funding for Russian companies
Since the Western sanctions, Russian companies are virtually cut off from the Western capital markets. That means there are two options for companies wanting to attract new capital for expansions: the stock exchange, or finding Asian investors. Retailer Magnit collected 9.8 billion roubles (156 million euros) at the stock exchange in February, after selling 1% of shares. Magnit benefits from the growth in the discounter segment. Russians are looking for cheaper products, so they buy at cheaper supermarkets. Supermarket chain Lenta reportedly wants to collect money at the stock exchange as well, with reports saying Lenta wants to raise 250 million dollars. Not much else is known about the share issue yet.
Russian port operator Global Ports incurs loss
Russian port operator Global Ports suffered a 193 million dollar loss last year, while revenues went down by 4.5% to 562 million dollars. The devaluation of the rouble inhibited the import, which has meant the port operator processed fewer containers and bulk goods. The company now wants to relieve its debts, and issue more shares in order to raise extra capital.
Bangladesh permanent potato supplier Russia
During the second week of April, a Russian inspection team will visit Bangladesh to check if the country is capable of meeting phytosanitary requirements, Fruit-Inform reports. Last year, diseases were discovered in the potatoes. A plan was then drafted to prevent problems. This is plan is now being evaluated. Bangladesh exports around 103,000 tonnes of potatoes annually, 20,000 tonnes of which for the Russian market. Bangladesh wants to become a permanent supplier of potatoes to Russia.