Ukrainian fresh sector does not profit from trade agreement EU

Ukrainian traders say they do not profit much from a trade agreement with the EU. For many products import tariffs have decreased, however, this is not the case for agricultural produce. The land does expect a good apricot season. Russia imported more fruits and vegetables from China in the first months of this year. Besides a shipment of cucumbers from Kazakhstan, which was sent back, Spanish oranges have also been intercepted. Poland has a large supply of apples and a Polish political party is openly calling for an end to the sanctions.

The treaty between Ukraine and the EU that promotes trade and came into force last January, is possibly not enough to compensate for the loss of the Russian market. It was this treaty that started the protests in Kiev and resulted in a civil war. In 2013 the Russian market was good for 15.06 billion dollars. Last year only 4.83 billion dollars was left from that. Exporters fear that Europe cannot compensate this loss. Many product groups had their import tariffs lifted or reduced, but not agricultural products. Yet with 12 per cent these are an important part of GDP.

The Philippine authorities have let Moscow know that they want to increase the export of a number of products, including tropical fruit. In turn, the Russians want to export more meat to the Asian group of islands.

WAPA’s latest numbers show the Polish apple supply to be higher on 1 March than it was last year. With 804,000 apples, supply is exceptionally high. The Polish apple sector experiences the consequences of the boycott. Import requirements from Russia were usually lower than those of other countries, making it difficult to get export to new markets off the ground.

The first early onions have entered the Russian market at a price of 30 to 35 rouble per kilo (0.42-0.49 dollar). Prices are comparable to last year, however, dollar prices are about 18 per cent lower. This year Egypt took the lead as supplier from Turkey. 

Ukrainian apricot orchards came through the winter well, Fruit-Inform reports. Despite frost in March damages have been limited. The situation in the Crimea is far more dramatic. Due to low temperatures there at the end of March, some growers report losing entire harvests. Last year damages to the harvests were bigger, when spring frost caused a loss of up to 90 per cent. 

Russian inspectorate intercepted 15 tonnes of cucumbers. The vegetables came from Kazakhstan, but the batch was not provided with the necessary phytosanitary documents. The cucumbers were returned to Kazakhstan.

In the first quarter the Russian inspection took 70 tonnes of fruits and vegetables that did not meet requirements off the market. Besides phytosanitary violations, illegal products were also intercepted.

Last week on a wholesaler’s market in Yaroslavl a small quantity of illegal fruits and vegetables were discovered. It concerns 62.7 kilos of Greek strawberries, 7.5 kilos of Italian and 884 kilos of Polish apples. The products were destroyed on the local rubbish dump.

In the Moscow region 19.5 tonnes of Spanish oranges were intercepted last week as well. The citrus had been imported via Belarus. The case was brought to light because inspection systems could not recognise the enclosed documents. 

After suspicions that Turkish products were imported into Russia under the guise of Syrian origins, Russian authorities have decided to conduct inspections in Syria. The inspection has to check whether products really come and are shipped from Syria or not. After Russia closed its borders to Turkish products it opened its borders to Syrian oranges. A first batch was shipped several weeks ago. 

According to expectations the country can export 150,000 to 200,000 tonnes a year. Experts are counting a market share of 10 per cent for Syrian citrus.

Last year the fruit and vegetable harvest on the Crimea fell by nearly half compared to the previous year. According to official statistics 213,000 tonnes of vegetables and 66,000 tonnes of fruit were harvested. Earlier estimates expected higher harvest numbers. The entire agricultural sector appears to be under pressure since the Russian annexation.

According to Chinese authorities the demand for Chinese fruit and vegetables is increasing in Russia. Cause could be the better exchange rate of the rouble and the higher disposable income of the Russians. In January export of the Chinese Heilongjiang province stood at 6.9 billion dollar, equivalent to 3,800 tonnes of vegetables. That was an increase of 85 per cent for this province. It is expected that demand for imported fruit will drop in the coming months.