Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Russian growers expect growth in prices of apples, potatoes in December
Mr. Pavel Grudinin, Director at Sovkhoz im. Lenina, Russia, expects an increase in prices of fruits and vegetables in December.
In particular, the price growth will be registered in the sectors of apples and potatoes, according to him. He is sure that prices will be under the effect of both the situation in the currency market and shortage of storage capacity in winter period.
«We must compete with imports. One way or another, imported produce appears in Russia: Belarus supplies, also Kazakhstan, and they calculate everything in US dollars. As a result, prices grow. Moreover, the market is affected by food shortage, but we have not constructed new storage facilities and have not expanded our storage capacity, and those factors will impact prices», said Mr. Grudinin.
Mr. Sergey Doronin, Deputy Chairman of Agricultural Committee, also said that a problem with lack of storage capacity indeed was observed, but the government handled the situation.
«We have endorsed a federal program on subsidizing percentage rates for those companies, which have started constructing logistics centers designed to enable to store seasonal products, inclusive of fruits and vegetables», he added.
Mr. Aleksandr Tkachev, Minister of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, expects food inflation to be at no higher than 15% as of the end of the year 2015.