Purchases of strawberries doubled in Russia

UFA, 20 June 2017. /Bashinform News Agency, Olga Murtazina/. In Russia, the purchase of strawberries doubled this year. Due to the bad weather, the domestic harvest promises to be low, and prices high, Izvestiya reports. According to the results of four months of this year, imports doubled compared to the same period of the last year.

Experts are sure that large domestic harvest is not expected due to the unfavourable weather. In their opinion, in general this year the import will be higher than in the last few years. These two factors push the prices for strawberries upwards - in a number of positions they have grown already twice.

Russia buys abroad strawberries, raspberries, red and black currants, cranberry, red bilberry, bilberry and blueberry. The main product of berry imports - strawberry, it is imported much more than other berries. This year for 4 months from the beginning of the year 13.3 thousand tons of strawberries were imported for $ 10.8 million (630 million rubles), a year earlier - 6.2 thousand tons for $ 6.5 million (472 million rubles). The main supplier of strawberries to the Russian market is Belarus, the neighbouring republic accounts for about 80% of all strawberry imports. Also the list of suppliers includes China, Armenia, Egypt and Morocco.

According to the Federal Customs Service, from January to April of this year, imports of berries amounted to 15.8 thousand tons for $ 17 million (about 1 billion rubles). In the same period a year earlier, 7,000 tons of berries worth $ 10 million (approximately 720 million rubles) were purchased. In the first four months of 2015, Russia purchased 10.4 thousand tons of berries for $ 14 million (840 million rubles). Thus, this year the import has become a record for the past three years.