Serbian “politico” reported on March 29 that affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and transportation difficulties, Serbian Apple manufacturers have been difficult to sell apples to Russia, the previous main export market. At the same time, although it may be too early to draw a conclusion, the Russian Ukrainian conflict will endanger Serbian berry exports for some time in the future, because Europe is its main export market.
Aleksandar leposavic, an expert at the fruit planting Research Institute of sechak City, said that the transportation of apples to Russia is becoming more and more difficult all over the world. For example, Argentina recently shipped 35000 tons of apples and pears to Russia, but only a third arrived in St. Petersburg and the rest stayed in Rotterdam. It is almost impossible for Serbia to transport apples to Russia through Poland.
On raspberry exports, leposavic said that at present, the European and Japanese markets are more cautious, because in the current crisis in Ukraine, everyone is more focused on providing those basic and more necessary products. At present, all fresh raspberries have been sold, but the export of frozen raspberries is still in progress. Compared with the stable environment in the early days, all processes such as storage, insurance and power are now more expensive. Although the US demand for Serbian raspberries, especially organic raspberries, has increased in the past few years, the European market is still dominant, with about 60% of Serbian raspberries exported to Germany. In addition to the United States, Serbia has also received import demand from Japan, but Japan only needs a special kind of raspberry product. Several large foreign berry purchasing companies have factories in Serbia and have been operating for many years. At present, there should be no problem in the sales of cypress raspberries.
Leposavic also said that in addition to Serbia, other fruit producing countries are also being affected by the Russian Ukrainian conflict. For example, Spain is unable to purchase raw materials such as chemical fertilizers and chemicals, and the primary production of fruits has been threatened. French fruit planting industry, especially berry industry, also faces similar serious problems. The main reason is that Belarus is the world’s largest supplier of potassium for compound fertilizer production. According to the recent European sanctions, its fertilizer export has been completely stopped. This is also a problem for Serbia, because Serbia needs to import a large number of raw materials for the production of potash fertilizer in April. At present, Serbia has a certain amount of chemical fertilizer reserves, but the quantity is limited, and the prices of relevant production raw materials are rising every day, which may also affect the raspberry production in Serbia. In 2021, Serbian raspberry exports reached US $426 million, a record. However, the Serbian chamber of Commerce and industry recently announced that raspberry production is declining due to adverse weather conditions, plantation conditions, the quality of planting materials, a shortage of professionals and a lack of seasonal labor.
Source: Economic and Commercial Department of the Embassy in the Republic of Serbia
Post time: Apr-07-2022