Exporters of fruit and vegetables assess their propects in the Russian market

The Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Generalitat Valenciana held last week  a workshop on export strategies applied to the Russian market for fresh produce.

 

During this workshop, Pavel Bondunowsky, of Sorus, one of Russia's leading importers of fruit and vegetables, analysed the situation and trading relations between the two countries.

 

For Spanish growers, Russia is today one of the markets with the most promise, given that the Russian economy's growth rate is around 7.8%. What is more according to Bondunowsky, in the last year "100 thousand million dollars have come in to Russia through foreign companies and Russia is the largest territory in the world". He added that "The main port of entry for Spanish produce is still St Petersburg."

 

The challenges that fruit and vegetable exporters face are competition on prices, especially with citrus, and the time it takes the transportation to distribute this kind of fresh produce around the Russian marketplace. The new minimum residue levels introduced in Russia will also affect exports.

 

Bondunowsky spoke too of the need to improve the warehouses and the infrastructure at the points of entry to Russia as they are still as they were in the sixties. Russian consumers' purchasing power is however on a par with that of their counterparts in Spain, given that the differences in the prices of fruits and vegetables between the two countries is minimal.

 

The commercial and logistical services director of the Port of Valencia, Juan Antonio Delgado, described the flow of fruit through the ports in Valencia, Sagunto and Gandía and the plans that are set to be rolled out to enhance their logistical facilities.

 

After the United States and Canada, Russia is the third most important destination in volume terms for fruits and vegetables leaving the port of Valencia.

 

The exporters of fruit and vegetables who attended the workshop were able to glean information on the Russian market and discuss the potential it offers them. Euroagro.Fruits was again an unmissable event for professionals in an industry marked by the great volume of its exports.