Russia depends on fresh produce imports

Last year, the import of fresh produce grew by 6.3 (vegetables) and 0.4 percent (fruit). The export value increased by 12.4 percent to $ 2.8 billion. New partners from Morocco and Israel allowed the import of tomatoes and peppers to grow by 3.7 percent to 12.7 percent for tomatoes and peppers (or 829,000 MT and 161,000 MT respectively). Israeli peppers were better priced than the Spanish ones, and the former makes an attractive partner in terms of logistics as well.

Cucumber imports dropped by 5.5 percent to 202,000 MT, while prices rose. Onions are climbing fast, with seven percent growth, lettuce with twenty percent. Tomatoes held the largest share, 28.6 percent of total vegetable imports. Potatoes were second with 15.3 percent. Both products declined in market share compared to 2012.

The fruit imports remained stable, although the structure of the market has changed. The three largest import fruits, bananas, apples and citrus, saw their combined market share grow to 69.2 percent. Citrus remained the largest with 26.4 percent of imports, followed by bananas and apples with 21.4 percent and 21.3 percent. For other fruit import, figures declined. For example, the import of pears dropped with 9.7 percent and grapes with 7.7 percent. The Russian website FruitNews.ru estimates that imported fruit holds 80 percent of the market, because few fruits are grown in Russia itself.

The same website reports that to Russian importers, the deteriorating quality of Moroccan clementines poses a problem. Importers chalk up the declining quality to new, inexperienced players in the market, while Moroccan exporters point to the rising price in the domestic market. Imports from Morocco decreased by 14 percent, similar to the trend in the supply of other exporting countries, such as Turkey, China, Spain and Abkhazia. Remarkably, in October Georgia was given access to the Russian market and in December 2013 ranked sixth among countries exporting mandarins to Russia.

It is expected that this year, the share of premium fruit will fall under the influence of declining consumer purchasing power and a deterioration in the exchange rate. The demand for apples, bananas and citrus, the so-called "mass market fruit” is expected to increase, but at the lowest possible prices.