Stricter legislation for foreign transport companies in Russia

Russia confirmed last week that Greece has filed an official request to lift the sanctions against Greece. According to a Greek strawberry grower, plenty of European products are finding their way to Russia, however. The EU appears to be stopping a previously announced deal between Hungary and Russia on a nuclear plant. While Bulgaria and Spain are seeking closer ties with Russia, representatives of both countries visited Moscow to discuss relations. And Russia announced stricter legislation for foreign transport companies. That way, Russia wants to support the domestic transport companies, which are forced to increase prices due to the weak rouble. Prices for vegetables like cabbage, potatoes and onions have gone up by dozens of percent. The Kuban region sees a lot of potential in the preserves industry, having set the production target at 970 million pots of vegetables for this year.

Greeks file official request to lift sanctions
A spokesperson of the Russian phytosanitary service (Rosselkhoznadzor) has confirmed to media that an official request has come in from Greece to lift the sanctions. "They are asking for close cooperation and to do everything possible, so that export can immediately begin when the sanctions are lifted," says Alexey Alekseenko of Rosselkhoznadzor. According to Russia, no specific products were named in the request, but only Greek products are concerned. Soon this item will also be high on the agenda when president Putin and Greek prime minister Tsipras will meet around the Victory Day celebrations.

Greek strawberry grower: "embargo only on paper"
A Greek strawberry grower spoke candidly about the boycott with FreshFruitPortal. The Greek says that everywhere in Europe, business is being done with Russia, usually through Belarus. The anonymous strawberry grower says that a lot of European produce can be found in Russian supermarkets, and that the government turns a blind eye.

EU stops Hungary-Russia deal
The previously announced deal between Russia and Hungary, with Russia contributing to the construction of two new reactors for a nuclear plant, has reportedly been blocked by the EU. The report has not yet been confirmed by the government in Budapest. The deal was closed in February, during a visit by president Putin to Hungary. Although there were protests against the Russian president's visit, public opinion in Hungary changed because of this agreement.

After Hungary, Greece, Cyprus and Italy, Bulgaria and Spain are also seeking closer ties with Russia. Bulgarian deputy prime minister Kalfin visited Moscow to discuss relations with Russia. "The purpose of the visit was to improve our ties and to be able to have a normal dialogue," Kalfin announced. Spain points to the damage the boycott causes to both Russia and Spain. Although the Spanish minister of Foreign Affairs (FA) pointed out the Minsk agreements need to be adhered to in order to phase out the sanctions, he also said that the boycott has big consequences for the Spanish economy. "I think one way or another, we need to try to take into account the Russian interests in the association agreements between Ukraine and the EU. This agreement needs to be closed in conjunction with Russia," said Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, Spanish FA minister, to Russian media after a visit to his Russian colleague Lavrov.

This means more cracks are showing in European unity. This week, the European FA ministers will gather, but in the first draft an agreement to be signed there, extra sanctions aren't mentioned. At the moment, the EU appears to be falling apart into two camps. Roughly speaking, Eastern and Southern European countries are critical of the sanctions, while Poland, the Baltic states and Northern Europe seem to want to follow a harder line.

Stricter legislation for foreign transport companies

The Russian Ministry of Transport announced that new legislation was approved this means stricter requirements are set for documentation of shipments in non-Russian trucks. If the paperwork isn't in order, a fine of 50,000 to 200,000 roubles (771-3100 Euro) can be imposed. Through this measure, the government wants to increase its hold on foreign logistical companies in the country. According to official statistics, 60% of the transport market is in the hands of foreign companies. Due to the fall of the rouble, Russian transport companies are forced to increase the price, thereby increasing the competitive edge of international companies.

Kuban wants to increase preserves production
The Russian province of Kuban, north-east of the Black Sea, presented plans to increase the production of preserves to 970 million pots in 2015. This target has been given to all factories in the region. To achieve this objective, 360,000 tonnes of fruit and vegetables are needed. The local government has complete confidence in the capacity of the factories in the region, and expects good results for the upcoming season.

Tajikistan and Russia strengthen ties
During the thirteenth meeting on economic cooperation between Russia and Tajikistan, agreements were signed by both countries on the construction of logistics centres. The former Soviet republic supplies a lot of fruit and vegetables to Russia. Exact volumes are difficult to determine in the statistics, because a large part is exported via Kazakhstan.

Cabbage prices Russia +63%
Cabbage prices have gone up by no less than 63% this year, figures from the Ministry of Agriculture show. Other vegetables also became significantly more expensive. For onions, 38.3% has to be paid, potatoes and carrots cost 24% and 23% more than at the start of 2015. With these figures, the inflation of food prices has caught up with the general inflation. For other products that fall under the boycott, like meat and dairy, the prices also went up significantly.

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