Import substitution in the horticultural sector of Russia does not yet give good results. Garden areas are growing rapidly, and apple production is increasing, but their imports continue to grow.
In January-February 2019, the Russian Federation purchased 11% more apples abroad than in the same period of the previous year, according to EastFruit experts. At the same time, the volume of imports in January amounted to more than 161 thousand tons and was the largest since 2015. It should be noted that since 2015, due to the catastrophic decline in the paying capacity of citizens and the rise in price of the product, the consumption of apples in the country has decreased.
Also read:Why is growing imports of apples, if their consumption is reduced, and production in Russia increases? Where do these imported fruits go? Experts answer this question like this: an apple from Russia is much inferior in quality to a foreign one, so the buyer is not interested in it. In this situation, most of the apple grown in the country goes for processing at low prices.
In the light of these events, the prospect of investing in new gardens in Russia looks doubtful. Protective barriers can do a disservice to the country's gardeners. The consumer is willing to pay only for quality products that they simply can not offer. In such conditions, there is no need to speak about export at all.
We recommend to read:The ban on the supply of apples from Europe, the USA and Ukraine, which offer high-quality fruits, also does not guarantee protection. If the apple re-export channel from Belarus is closed, it is replaced by imports from Georgia, Macedonia, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, which are non-sanctioned. These countries are the leaders in the pace of importing apples to Russia in January-February 2019.
