European Commission extends support measure

The European Commission extends support measures for fruit and vegetables. Russian retail wants to get rid of best-before dates on fruits and vegetables. Kazakh apple import has been decreasing for months, Russia imports more from Uzbekistan and Armenian growers want a boycott on Turkish greenhouse vegetables.

The European Commission has extended the support measures for fruit and vegetables until 1 July 2017. However, quantities bought will be reduced because the companies have already had a reasonable amount of time to adapt to the new situation, writes State Secretary Van Dam in a letter. Until April of this year, 1.1 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables have been taken from the market, at a total cost of 162 million Euro.

Russia keeps looking for new trade partners for fruit and vegetables. According to sources in Russia the import from Uzbekistan has increased by ten per cent since January. The largest riser is citrus, of which Russia imported 50 times as much from Uzbekistan. Grapes also did well. Russia imported 13,400 tonnes of fruit from Uzbekistan, whereas last year this was only 339 tonnes. The import of lemons was also much higher, in 2015, 14 tonnes of lemons were imported, this year that was 621 tonnes. 

According to figures from Fruit-Inform, the apple import from Kazakhstan has sharply decreased since the start of the 2015-2016 season. So few apples were not imported in the past five years. Between July 2015 and March 2016 the country imported 64,000 tonnes, that is 40 per cent less than a year earlier. Poland is still the largest supplier of apples, although the volume decreased by 27 per cent. During this period 37,000 tonnes of Polish apples were imported. China is in second place with 13,000 tonnes, a decrease of eight per cent. Third place is for Moldavia with 8,000 tonnes, 67 per cent less than last year.

Russian supermarkets have drawn up a petition to reverse the regulations surrounding best-before dates for fruits and vegetables. Supermarkets are obligated to give all products a best-before date. Fruits and vegetables were previously exempt from this rule. However, it was obligatory for processed fresh produce.

Turkish tomatoes have been successfully competing with Armenian greenhouse vegetables in the past few months. Despite transportation costs, Turkish tomatoes are cheaper than Armenian ones. This resulted in disgruntled growers in Armenia. Armenian growers have to lower prices in order to compete. Because the growers do not care for that, they are now pleading for a boycott of Turkish vegetables. Not everyone is supporting the initiative. The head of the Union of Domestic Manufacturers thinks a boycott would lead to illegal increases in prices.

The walnut cultivation in Ukraine will, according to expectations, profit from the treaty entered into with Europe. Many growers invest to increase production capacity. Because many walnut cultivators are small enterprises, statistics are based on export figures. Nevertheless, the country is in the top five of largest walnut producers globally. According to the USDA, 102,000 tonnes of walnuts were harvested during the 2015-2016 season. In 2009 investments were made in new cultivation. The trees need five to seven years before they can be harvested. The walnut season is from November until December, the walnuts from storage are available until July-August.