The Association of Gardeners of Russia forecasts that this year's apple harvest could be slightly lower than the previous year, approximately 1.35-1.4 million tons, compared to 1.55 million tons. The main reason is freezing during the flowering period, as explained by the president of the association, Igor Mukhanin. In several regions of the Central Chernozem zone, there were severe frosts in early May, reaching as low as -7 °C, which affected the flowering phase up to the appearance of the pink bud. Southern regions also experienced crop damage due to hail and flooding.
At the same time, a good harvest is expected in the non-chernozem zone, despite the spring frosts that occurred before flowering. Russian early apple varieties have already been available on the market since July. The import of cheap foreign apples is currently not active.
Apple imports to Russia are declining, except for the spring period, when supplies come from fruit storage, mainly from Moldova and Serbia.
Tamara Reshetnikova, the CEO of “Technologies of Growth” company, emphasizes that the Russian apple market is almost saturated with domestic products. Additionally, she considers that implementing a total import ban from August until the new year is not a market solution and will lead result in higher apple prices for consumers.
source: agroinvestor.ru