"We never bought things from the UK in the past due to the prices and we haven't really dealt with them before, so I am not sure if this would be something we will be interested in in the future. We are not very familiar with the market there." said Svetlana Vengilevskaya, Import manager at Ruzifruit.
Historically, before the embargo, the main suppliers for Ruzifruit were Belgium and Holland. Although, Belgian apples and pears were preferred from the wholesale market because many in Russia felt that they were better in packing and arrived in better condition. This is, of course, not true for all suppliers and there were exceptions.
Svetlana said that they will see how things go. Even with Britain leaving the EU, they still might keep the sanctions against Russia, much like other countries such as Australia and the US. Out of the non-EU countries who are part of the embargo, most apple trade was done with the US apples. The apples were quite expensive but were preferred and in demand from certain types of luxury consumers.
"The situation with the politics are not ideal, but this it is also a good opportunity for Russian producers and a chance for them to develop their industry. The embargo has made it difficult for wholesalers who were used to buying from other countries, because it has caused prices to rise and the consumer is ultimately the one who has to pay for it. We have been buying some apples this season from the Kabardino Balkaria region along with other areas in the South of Russia and they had really good quality and packaging and there are companies they doing a good job of building their company's and have been actively planning new orchards." said Svetlana.
For more
information:Svetlana Vengilevskaya
Ruzifruit
Tel: +7 8123095837
Email: svetlana.ruzifruit.ru
www.ruzifruit.ru
