Bananas "flower" in Russia. A comment from Ilgiz Baymuratov to the Nezavisimaya Gazeta
19 October 2017
Domestic market paradox: at the time of import substitution, apples are twice as expensive as bananas and similar to oranges. Bananas are cheaper than cucumbers and tomatoes.
Ilgiz Baymuratov
Deputy General Director of FinExpertiza
It is difficult to draw any firm conclusion because there are no figures available on the domestic apple production, however, since Russia has recently been the largest apple importer worldwide it is evident that the domestic market cannot be filled by Russian producers only. The gap between domestic production and import is gross, it could not be covered within a couple of years of import substitution due to low investment growth in the industry. From the yield point of view, domestic agricultural enterprises lag behind global leaders - Poland, China, Italy and the USA. The gap could be closed through larger garden grounds, but also through investments in irrigation systems, storage, processing and package. Retailers prefer importers since the latter can guarantee stable deliveries throughout the year at predictable prices. The cost of apple production exceeds acquisition, transport and storage expenses of bananas, for instance, which makes higher prices in retail.