Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Russia: apple price growth restrained by stable imports
According to Fruit-Inform, Russian apple growers are still unable to raise prices despite the ban on imports from Poland and Moldova.
Prices of domestic apples have been stable in the Russian market for the sixth week in a row. Despite a seasonal decrease in the supply of autumn apples, the majority of farmers make no attempts to raise prices, as purchasers are ready to buy apples at no higher than RUB 25/kg (USD 0.63/kg). Minimum prices also are still at RUB 15/kg (USD 0.38/kg).
The price stability is connected with regular imports of apples from Belarus, Serbia and China. Furthermore, the market participants still say of re-exports of the European apples to account for the most significant part of Belarusian exports to Russia. An increase in domestic production also does not favor growth in prices. However, the majority of Russian growers plan to finish sales in December; therefore, the price situation in the Russian apple market will fully depend on the import volumes and prices of imported produce soon.
It should be noted that current prices of domestic apples are averagely 10% lower compared with the same period of the previous season.