The fresh-produce analyst of Rabobank Food and Agribusiness Research, Cindy van Rijswick, believes that Russian importation blocks will impact the European fruit and vegetable industry with considerable force.
Russia has been a crucial export destination for Polish apples, and for pears from the Netherlands and Belgium. There are certain individual exporters who specialise in shipping to Russia. For these, the sanctions could be disastrous.
Though many food sectors will be affected by the ban, the essential difference in the case of fruit and vegetables is oversupply. Peaches, tomatoes and cucumbers, for example, have been in high supply and are thus inexpensive, so flooding the market with crops that would have been sold to Russia ordinarily will pose major problems for producers.
The Russian prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, stated that he hoped "our partners' economic pragmatism will prevail over bad political decisions, and they will think before trying to frighten Russia and impose restrictions on it. And mutual trade and economic partnership will be restored in the volumes which existed before. We would have liked that to happen."
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article written by Peter Donnelly.
