Russian Prime Minister Medvedev confirmed once again that any decisions about the boycott will be taken in August and will depend on the position taken by Europe. According to the Russian phytosanitary service, there are negotiation attempts underway, but Europe is not collaborating. The EU approved about 20% of the Bulgarian compensation requests, which amounted to 1.4 billion Euro, while only 400,000 Euro could be allocated. Russia stopped soft fruit shipments, suspecting fraud had been carried out with the documents. Egyptian citrus was refused because of the presence of a fruit fly in the oranges.
Norway, the largest gas supplier to Western Europe
Norway has taken the leading position as a supplier of gas to Western Europe from Russia. In the first quarter, the Scandinavian country exported 29.2 billion cubic metres of gas to Western Europe, compared to the 20.29 delivered by Russia, according to figures from Gazprom. Eastern European countries are not included. This trend, which started late last year has been the result, firstly, of a successful attempt by Europe to reduce dependence on Russian gas, and on the other hand, of the fact that there are companies speculating with gas prices given the falling oil prices. According to the EU, Russia is still the largest supplier to the EU, but its share has declined. Russia's share in imports dropped from 43 to 42% and volume declined by 10%. For Norway, however, the import share increased from 34 to 38%.
Medvedev: lift boycott decision in August
The Russian Prime Minister said again to the Russian news agency TASS that the decision on the boycott will not be taken before August. In August it will certainly be either extended, modified or lifted. "We'll make this decision based on our national interests," said Medvedev. "We were forced to adopt these measures due to the actions of neighbouring countries and trading partners, so it also depends on the decisions they make." According to the Prime Minister, the measures have been positive for Russia to develop its domestic potential.
Negotiations with Europe
Last week, Russia denied that negotiations with the EU about the boycott were underway. Now the head of the Russian phytosanitary service, Sergey Dankvert, reports that negotiations have been suspended. There were several attempts made in order to arrive at a solution, said Dankvert to FruitNews. According to Dankvert, the EU does not want to speak with Russia. Some Member States would be interested in negotiating, but they follow Brussels. According to the Russian inspection service, about 20% of the Greek, Hungarian and Cypriot companies that were allowed to export before the boycott may have access to the Russian market. After further inspections, this number could rise.
EU approves 20% Bulgarian compensation requests
Bulgarian fruit and vegetable producers, according to the Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev, will receive 398,000 Euro in compensations from the EU. Bulgaria issued requests with a total value of 1.4 billion, but the EU only approved about a fifth of the applications. Bulgarian exports to Russia last year amounted to 527 million Euro, 2.4% of the country's total exports. In the first months of this year, exports would have dropped by 7%. Exports to Russia are 35% lower.
Russia suspects soft fruit fraud
Russian authorities suspect fraud has been carried out with the certificates of 14 tonnes of soft fruit. Blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and raspberries allegedly from Mexico and Morocco were stopped at the border. In total, there were 9.3 tonnes of strawberries, 2.24 tonnes of blueberries, 1.8 tonnes of raspberries and 330 kilos of blackberries. The fruit was imported from the Czech Republic via Belarus. According to Russia, the figures on the documents did not match.
Egyptian oranges refused due to Mediterranean fruit fly
Russian authorities refused a shipment with 893 tonnes of oranges from Egypt after authorities detected the presence of Mediterranean fruit fly. The fruit arrived via the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. While the phytosanitary certificate was okay, the Russian phytosanitary authorities found fruit fly larvae in 120 tonnes of the fruit.
Egyptian exporters expect no export growth in Russia
The President of the Egyptian Agriculture Products Export Council (APEC), Ali Eissa, told the national newspaper Daily News Egypt he does not expect exports to Russia to grow. According to the President, the main reasons for this are the devaluation of the Rouble and Russia's falling purchasing power. According to APEC, Russia is not importing the same products that were boycotted in Europe. Delays in deliveries and strengthened inspections would be a major obstacle for trade, according to traders; others see market fluctuations as the main challenge. Another difficulty is the transport time from Cairo to Moscow, of 20 to 40 days. According to Egypt, negotiations are underway with Russia to speed the process up.
Egyptian government: exports to Russia in 2014 +22%
According to figures revealed by the Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry, exports to Russia increased by 22.3% in 2014. Russia imported goods worth $ 5.5 billion in 2014, while a year earlier shipments amounted to 3 billion dollars. According to figures from the Ministry, export volumes increased sharply for some products; when it comes to fruit and vegetables, considerable growth was registered by potatoes (+144.8%), frozen vegetables (+900%) and fruit (+823.1%).
Russia and Vietnam sign trade agreement
Russia and Vietnam have reached an agreement for an initial version of a trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) and Vietnam. Vietnam is the first country to sign an agreement with the Union, which includes Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia.
Syrian citrus exports did not yield desired result
According to the director of the Syrian-Russian Business Council, Samir Hassan, the export of citrus to Russia did not meet their expectations. Exports encountered several obstacles. Syria made two shipments, the first of 27 containers and the second of 49 containers. In both cases there was inadequate preparation of the process, from harvesting to transport, and there were also issues with payments. Last October, the country reported it aimed to export 15 to 20 tonnes of citrus.