No extension to Turkey boycott
The Russian government has said that they will not extend the boycott of Turkey. It was recently suggested that an addition to the boycott was being considered by various Russian institutions. The Kremlin is now distancing themselves from this. For now the list of boycotted products seems to remain the same.
Mushrooms and tomatoes destroyed
Employees of the Russian inspection service in the state Kalmykiya (on the Caspian Sea) stopped a truck loaded with mushrooms earlier this month. During the inspection it was found that the first row of the load was labelled as product from Macedonia, but inspectors found traces of new markings. Closer inspection showed that other parts of the party were labelled with Poland as their country of origin. The cargo was seized for further inspection. The over 17 tonnes of mushrooms were dumped and destroyed.
source: www.fsvps.ru
source: www.fsvps.ru
800 boxes of tomatoes were also intercepted in the same region. Mistakes turned out to have been made with the customs declaration. According to the documents it was tomatoes from 2015 with Azerbaijan as the country of origin. According to the markings on the boxes it was tomatoes from 2016. After further investigation the party turned out to be contaminated with California trips. The party was taken off the market and destroyed.
Russian ministry invests in agriculture
The Russian Ministry of Agriculture recently presented ambitious plans. 1500 hectares of greenhouses are to be built in the next five years, the harvest of tomatoes and cucumbers is to rise to 850,000 tonnes. 65,000 hectares of apple orchards are also to be planted, which should raise the harvest by 1.3 tonnes. To do all of this 270 billion roubles (3.4 billion Euro) is needed, the ministry has calculated.
'Green corridor' halves Iran-Russia transport time
During a meeting in the Iranian capital of Teheran the Iranian minister of Agriculture announced that the 'green corridor' is intended to increase the export of fruit and vegetables and lower transport costs. According to estimates a system like this should half transport time. Customs can also work faster. Most Iranian products are imported through the state Dagestan.
Syrian exports seek road to Russia
Citrus growers in the west of Syria are looking for new routes for export to Russia. The traditional route through Iraq has been blocked by IS. And although the traders indicate that there is enough food available in the region around Latakia, it is lacking on the markets. "IS is out to destroy, so they don't want to support us by buying products," said a trader. Russia has caught the exporters' eye. Transport takes four days by ship from Latakia. The traders hope to profit from the boycott of Turkish products by Russia.
Russian supermarkets visit Serbia
Representatives of large Russian retailers are visiting Serbia this week. The Russians would like to see one logistic centre created where all companies that want to export to Russia, gather.
Polish growers ask government for Russia export
The Polish branche organisation for apple growers, among others, has asked the government for help in the export of apples to Russia. The country still has a stock of 700,000 to 800,000 tonnes of apples in storage. The domestic market is estimated to be able to absorb 200,000 to 250,000 tonnes of apples. The other tonnes are only suitable for the Russian market according to the organisation, but the border is closed.
Starting in the middle of this month, Romanian supermarkets will be investing in local product, having developed a special label for it. Mega-Image, a Belgian supermarket chain in Romania, is presenting the label 'Romanian Tastes from Domestic Growers'. The chain has 10 more suppliers than last year supplying under the label. Billa, a different supermarket, is picking up the 'Best of Romania' label again.
The fruit and vegetable prices in the Ukraine have dropped again for the fourth week in a row. This shows from Fruit-Inform figures. The prices dropped by 4.6 percent between February 27 and March 4. Over the last four weeks the prices have dropped by 14.3 percent. A small demand and the early spring vegetables are pressuring the prices. A lot of products have also dropped in quality due to bad storage facilities. They are now being dumped for low prices. Vegetables became 4.7 percent cheaper. Potato prices dropped by 9.1 percent.