Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Will Russian importers be able to compensate lack of Turkish produce?
Russian importers are actively looking for alternative suppliers of produce previously purchased in Turkey, according to Fruit-Inform. At the same time, Russian wholesale companies are rather optimistic and do not expect shortage of supply of citrus fruits, tomatoes and cucumbers in connection with the ban on imports from Turkey.
Representatives of several large importers have said to Fruit-Inform journalists that they have started searching for alternative suppliers after the embargo has been preliminary announced.
Now the majority of them have already managed to conclude contracts of supply of produce from countries that are not under Russian sanctions. Russian companies plan to replace Turkish citrus fruits by increasing imports from Egypt, China and Morocco. Importers also plan to purchase cucumbers and tomatoes in Iran, China and Abkhazia. Furthermore, many importers say of plans to stop importing lemons from Turkey despite no active ban on their imports in Russia.
«Despite slightly more than a week of active embargo on imports from Turkey, our stocks of Turkish produce are minimal now», says a representative of Russian importer. «However, the market is not characterized by shortage of supply. We believe that lack of imports from Turkey will not affect the market situation: there is a wide range of countries that are ready to replace Turkish produce under affordable conditions».
The majority of Russian importers also do not expect any significant rises in prices of citrus fruits, cucumbers and tomatoes in connection with lack of supply from Turkey.
«I do not think that the ban on imports from Turkey will have any effect on prices in Russia», an importer continues. «For example, current prices of citrus fruits, cucumbers and tomatoes are relatively stable. I think that prices will mainly depend on the situation with the Russian ruble exchange rates».
Nevertheless, the sector experts do not share Russian importers' optimism. According to them, Turkey has been a rather serious player in the Russian fruit and vegetable market; therefore, loss of Turkish shipments will inevitably affect the Russian sector development.
«Turkey has been a rather large supplier of fruit and vegetable products to Russia and the absolute leader in Russia's imports of several fresh produce categories», Ms. Tetiana Getman, Head of Fruit-Inform, comments. «Turkey has previously accounted for more than 40% of Russia's total annual imports of tomatoes, about 25% of imports of cucumbers and the same share in imports of citrus fruits. Russian importers will most likely face rather serious problems in attempts to compensate those volumes within a short time. Moreover, an increase in Russian importers' demand for produce supplied from alternative countries might enable those suppliers to raise prices».