Polish apples and Belgian pears intercepted

The European sanctions have a negative impact on Russia. Although by no means all investments in Russia are covered by the sanctions, it turns out that European companies do not want to run any risk. It's different in the energy sector, where Gazprom, in collaboration with three European companies, made a deal on a pipeline through the Baltic Sea. In Russia, the BRICS leaders are convening this week. The upcoming economies discuss further cooperation, looking for answers to the neo-liberal 'threat' from the West. The American pear export saw an important market disappear when Russia closed its borders. The Americans reckon with firm competition from European countries that are looking for new markets. Russia intercepted several shipments of illegally imported products, including apples from Poland and pears from Belgium. Bulgaria hopes the sanctions can be ended soon, the country is hit hard by the trade restrictions.

The European sanctions against individuals have little effect on Russia as a whole. Russian companies being denied access to European capital has bigger consequences, says Chris Weafer in the Moscow Times. Although the original list includes a handful of state banks and energy companies, the result was that European investors avoided all risks in Russia. A side effect of the chilled relations with the West is that Russia started looking for more diversification in trade. That is manifested in better relations with China, Africa, and Latin America, for instance.

Energy company Gazprom signed an agreement with Shell, EON and OMV, three European energy companies, to increased the capacity of the Nord Stream pipeline. The pipeline runs from Russia to Germany through the Baltic Sea. With the deal, Gazprom strengthens its position in Europe. The Russian company is a dominant player in the energy market of Eastern Europe, for instance. But for Russia, there's another factor to take into account: Ukraine. That doesn't always go smoothly. There are regularly recurring negotiations with Ukraine, with Russia threatening to shut down the gas supply. With a bigger capacity for the Nord Stream, and the plans for the Turkish Stream, Ukraine becomes less important as a transit country.

This week, Russia hosts a BRICS conference. On the agenda are themes like further economic cooperation in various sectors, and steps to tackle the international monetary system. BRICS alternatives to the IMF and the World Bank are being looked into. The leaders also debate the "threat" of neoliberalism. Although some of the BRICS don't grow as fast as before, the combined economies are nearly equal in size to that of the US. These economic powers feel ignored by the West on the world stage. In addition, the conference shows that Russia isn't completely isolated by the economic battle with the West.

Last year, the export of American pears decreased. Three causes can be given for that: in the first place, Russia's closed borders, causing the country to lose its third most important market. The export was also slowed down by port strikes, and the high dollar exchange rate.

In May, the export amounted to 5.7 million boxes, a 13 percent decrease compared to the previous year. The Russian market accounted for sales of nearly 500,000 boxes in the 2013/2014 season. Jeff Corea of the Pear Bureau Northwest expects that the European countries will focus more aggressively on new markets, like the Middle East, Latin America and Asia, he said in an interview with Goodfruit. The Dutch and Belgian Conference pear, promoted in China, is an example of this. The main markets for America are Mexico and Canada. After the loss of the Russian market, the United Arab Emirates took over third place. The Pear Bureau has 5.7 million dollars for export marketing for the 2015/2016 season.

During the BRICS conference, there's also room for other negotiations. President Putin talked to Indian Prime Minister Modi about a trade agreement with the EEU, the Eurasian Economic Union. In recent months, Putin has been working hard to expand the EEU and reach trade agreements. Apart from this theme, the leaders discussed cooperation in terms of nuclear energy, military technology and GPS.

45 tonnes of produce stopped
Russian consumer organization Rospotrebnadzor has taken 45 tonnes of imported products off the market between August 8 and July 1. These products come from different segments, including 3.9 tonnes of fruit and 0.8 tonnes of vegetables. In addition, 145 million roubles (2.5 million dollars) in fines were imposed on companies that violated the rules.

Customs in the Perm region have intercepted 1650 kilos of apples and pears from Poland and Belgium at a market. The officials found the fruit during an inspection on a wholesale market. The Polish apples had been imported through Belarus, the Belgian pears through Lithuania.

The Bulgarian prime minister hopes the economic battle between Europe and Russia can be ended soon. As a NATO and EU member, Bulgaria supported the sanctions, but the country also suffers major losses due to the counter sanctions. A lot of the Eastern European country's tourism, agriculture and trade is linked to Russia. "As a result, we're being falsely accused," says Bulgarian Prime Minister Borissov. "We had no intention of chilling relations between Bulgaria and Russia. I hope the big bosses will solve everything soon, and bring the sanctions to an end."

The export of apples to Ukraine has risen significantly in the past season: 6500 tonnes of apples. In the previous four season, the export was virtually nil. In 2010/2011 for instance, the export amounted to 29 tonnes. The risen export, according to Fruit-Inform, can be linked to the boycott. Moldovan apple exporters looked for new markets and ways to circumvent the boycott. Ukraine was a good transit country for the apples to Russia.

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