Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Russia to lower import duty on citrus fruits within year of WTO accession
According to interfax.com, Russia will lower the import duty on citrus fruits within a year of its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), a document on Russia's obligations before WTO accession made available to Interfax said.
However, import duties on bananas and grapes will not change, the document said.
The import duty on oranges and grapefruits, which today stands at 5% but no less than 0.02 euro per kilogram, will be maintained at its current level at the moment of Russia's WTO accession. However, in 2013 the import duty on oranges will be lowered to 5% but no lower than 0.017 euro/kilo, and on grapefruits - to 5% but no lower than 0.015 euro/kilo. The import duty on mandarin oranges will be lowered by 2013 from the current 5% but no less than 0.03 euro/kilo, to 5% but no lower than 0.015 euro/kilo.
The import duty on lemons and limes, which now stands at 5% but no less than 0.035 euro/kilo, will be lowered to 5% but no lower than 0.02 euro/kilo once Russia joins the WTO. In 2013, it will be lowered to 5% but no lower than 0.015 euro/kilo.
At the same time, the import duty on bananas which, together with apples and citrus fruits, are among the most popular fruits in Russia, will not change - it will be kept at its current level of 5% but no less than 0.02 euro/kilo. Insignificant changes will only affect dried bananas, the import duty on which will be lowered to 4% but no less than 0.015 euro/kilo in 2013.
The import duty on grapes will also be kept at its current level of 5%. However, during negotiations, Russia reserved its right to raise that duty to 10% in case of necessity. But by 2015 it must be back at the 5% level.
The import duty on pineapples, which currently stands at 5%, will be lowered to 3% once Russia joins the WTO. The new duty of 3% will take effect on papaya imports in 2013. The current duty on papayas is 5% and will be maintained at that level when Russia joins the WTO. Experts predict that next year bananas will become the most exported fruit in the world. Russia has imported over 1 million tonnes of bananas. Its main supplier is Ecuador, which in H1 2011 exported over 670,000 tonnes of bananas, increasing exports by 18%.
Citrus fruit imports are growing. In January-September 2011, Russia imported 1.007 million tonnes of citrus fruits for $979.3 million, against 873,300 tonnes for $730.7 million in the same period of last year. Over the past decade, citrus deliveries to Russia have grown by over 3-fold. Last year, the citrus fruit market totaled $1.2 billion.
Exotic fruit imports account for 3% of total fruit imports to Russia, and 70% of them are pineapples.
We would remind you that the all leading Ukrainian and Russian fruit and vegetable business participants will gather at the Eighth International Conference “Fruits & Vegetables of Ukraine – 2011. New Exporter”. This event will take place in conjunction with Fresh Produce Ukraine 2011 Fair, IEC, Kiev, Ukraine, November 30 – December 2, 2011.