Kazakh fruit & veg exports to Russia up tenfold in two years

According to public data from FCS Russia, imports of tomatoes from Kazakhstan to the Russian Federat…

According to public data from FCS Russia, imports of tomatoes from Kazakhstan to the Russian Federation have increased by 19 times since the introduction of the ban on EU imports. During the first 8 months of this year, Russia imported 1,659 tonnes of Kazakh tomatoes, while from January to August 2014, this figure stood at just 88 tonnes (with no imports at all in 2013). Since the introduction of the sanctions, Russia has purchased a total of 3,318 tonnes of tomatoes from Kazakhstan.

Meanwhile, cucumber shipments have grown from 192 to 2,041 tonnes during the same period, while those of cabbage have increased from 504 to 2,618 tonnes. In total, during the embargo, Russia has imported 3,414 tonnes of cucumbers and 4,954 tonnes of cabbage from Kazakhstan.

Also, the purchases of Kazakh carrots, turnips and beets have grown from 638 to 2,055 tonnes. Since the introduction of the sanctions, Russia has imported a total of 4,077 tonnes of these vegetables.

Aubergine, courgette, lettuce, spinach, celery and mushroom shipments have increased by 1.5 times, from 719 to 1,076 tonnes. A total of 5,110 tonnes have been delivered since the ban's introduction. If we compare this with 2013, the volume has become 27 times greater.

On the other side of the scale, onions and garlic shipments have surprisingly slowed down. While over 5,040 tonnes of these products were imported to Russia from January to August 2014, this year the figure has only reached 1,690 tonnes. Potatoes are also in the red, as their volume of shipments has been reduced by half, from 931 to 579 tonnes.

Since the introduction of the embargo, Russia has purchased 12,274 tonnes of Kazakh onion and garlic and 3,956 tonnes of potatoes.

More positive is the situation for Kazakh fruits and berries. In the first eight months of this year, shipments of apricots, peaches and cherries to Russia have become seven times greater compared to the same period of 2014. In the first eight months of the year, a total of 14,782 tonnes of fruits and berries were imported, while during the same period in 2014 this figure reached only 2,067 tonnes.

Moreover, the purchases of Kazakh apples, pears and quince have increased threefold. From January to August 2014, Russia imported only 96 tonnes of these fruits, compared to 289 tonnes in the same period this year (the peak was reached last year, when the import volume exceeded 780 tonnes).

Kazakhstan has also suddenly started shipping raspberries, blackberries and mulberries to the Russian Federation. According to the Russian Federal Customs Service, by August this year the country had already imported more than 784 tonnes of these fruits from Kazakhstan.