Who Will Replace Turkey on Fruit and Vegetable Market in Southern Russia?

Over the past six months Turkey delivered about 90,000 metric tonnes of citrus fruits, about 150,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes, some 30,000 metric tonnes of onions and garlic, and about 10,000 metric tonnes of cucumbers to the Krasnodar region, according to a source in local administration.

SOCHI (Sputnik) – Fruits and vegetables from Iran, China, Argentina and other countries will replace Turkish imports in the Krasnodar Territory in southern Russia until local producers increase output to meet demand, а representative of the Krasnodar Territory administration’s consumer department told RIA Novosti.

He said that over the past six months Turkey delivered about 90,000 metric tonnes of citrus fruits, about 150,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes, some 30,000 metric tonnes of onions and garlic, and about 10,000 metric tonnes of cucumbers.

“A ban on Turkish imports will not affect the economic situation in the region. Local importers, including wholesale ones, are discussing larger contracts to import fruits and vegetables from other countries,” the source said.

He added that Iran, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Israel, South Africa, Argentina, Abkhazia, Egypt and China are willing to fill the gap in the short-term. They can increase supplies under existing contracts with the Krasnodar Territory without any delay.

“In the long term, we hope that local producers will satisfy market requirements by growing more vegetables in greenhouses. Of course, we will continue to import citrus fruits, for example, from Egypt, which used to supply about 80,000 metric tonnes of oranges and grapefruit in six months, or nearly as much as Turkey. Other potential suppliers of citrus fruits are Abkhazia, Morocco, China and Iran,” the source said.