Turkey wants to normalise relationship with Russia

Russia considers lifting sanctions against Turkey provided that phytosanitary requirements are met. Turkey wants to improve its relationship with Russia, but a Turkish delegation was denied a visa for Russia. Greece and Russia are going to collaborate and Italy tries to by-pass the boycott by starting collaborations with companies that have not been boycotted. Iranian investors invest in Kazakh apple cultivation and Uzbekistan exports more to Russia.

The Russian phytosanitary service announced they are considering lifting the sanctions against Turkey, provided products meet all phytosanitary requirements. In recent months several products were added to the sanction list for phytosanitary reasons. 

The Turkish government wants to normalise its relationship with Russia. After Turkey downed a Russian fighter plane, the relationship cooled. A Turkish delegation wanted to visit Moscow this week to improve the situation, but the representatives were denied a visa for Russia. Talks could therefore not take place and were postponed.

Turkish grape exporters are looking to the Middle East as a new market. The sector has a problem now that Russia, good for 95 per cent of export, has closed its borders to grapes. Europe is a small market for the exporters, which is why they are now looking to their region. If no export markets are found, production of raisins will increase, because more cultivators will let their grapes dry.

Greek and Russian companies are going to collaborate in agriculture. The countries are eager to cooperate in, among other things, the field of trade for products not covered by the boycott. After a meeting between the leaders of the governments last year, 2016 was announced to be the year of ‘Russia in Greece’ and ‘Greece in Russia.’

With the Russian borders closed to European fruits and vegetables, countries are looking for new ways to retain their place in the Russian market. The Italian Ministry of Economic Affairs recently presented the label ‘made with Italy.’ Italian companies will collaborate with companies in countries that are not boycotted, which is why the label will mention Italy. For example, a collaboration with companies in Kyrgyzstan will result in labels that say ‘made with Italy in Kyrgyzstan.’

Iranian investors are putting money in an apple orchard in Ayagoz, in East Kazakhstan. The two parties have signed an agreement to that effect. The first capital injection amounts to about 1.3 million dollar. The Kazakh region used to be known for its apple cultivation, but that cultivation went in decline in recent years. This investment should inject new life into the cultivation.

The import of fruits and vegetables in Ukraine has risen during the first quarter. Under seasonal influences almost seven times more potatoes, onions, cabbages, carrots and beets were imported. The import of carrots and beets amounted to 5,800 tonnes, while a year earlier this was 169 tonnes. The import of potatoes rose from 513 tonnes last year to 2,100 tonnes this year. The import of cabbage almost doubled to 1,100 tonnes. Onions were imported with 2,200 tonnes. Causes of the increased import are, besides seasonal, a decrease in cultivation and problems with long-term storage.

According to the Russian president the import from Uzbekistan has risen by 10 per cent. The import of citrus supposedly even increased by a factor of 54. Last year, more grapes and lemons were already imported from the Central Asian country. The import of grapes amounted to 13,432 tonnes last year, while a year earlier it had amounted to 339 tonnes. The import of lemons increased from 14 tonnes to 621 tonnes.