Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Eastern Europe able to replace Russia in Turkish fruit and vegetable exports
In connection with almost full stop of Turkish fruit and vegetable exports to Russia, Turkey plans to expand its presence in other countries of Eastern Europe, according to Fruit-Inform.
We would remind you that the Russian Federation has been one of the largest buyers of Turkish fruits and vegetables with, for example, Turkish citrus exports to Russia totaling about 400,000 tons annually (about 25% of Turkey's total citrus exports).
However, Russia has introduced the ban on imports of fruits and vegetables from Turkey, which is in force since January 1, 2016. Under those conditions, Turkish companies are uninterested in finding re-export channels through third countries and plan to switch over to selling to other target markets with Eastern European countries (Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland) as the most interesting destinations.
Ukraine is currently the largest export market for Turkish produce, and it imported more than 120,000 tons of citrus fruits, 6,600 tons of cucumbers and 12,300 tons of tomatoes from Turkey in 2015. Moreover, Turkey is the leading exporter of the above-mentioned produce categories to Ukraine.
Turkish exports to other Eastern European countries are significantly lower. For example, Poland imported no more than 1,200 tons of citrus fruits and just 121 tons of cucumbers from Turkey in the first three quarters of the season 2015/16.
In case of an increase in Turkish fruit and vegetable exports, the supply of those produce categories may sharply grow in the Eastern European market leading to a gradual decrease in their prices.