"The restriction on the supply of Turkish oranges to Russia should not affect prices, since the food embargo approximately coincides with the natural end of the Turkish orange season," says Mikhail, a representative of the company Royal Fresh. From 1 January 2016 Russia will ban a number of food products from Turkey, including everybody's much loved oranges. The Turkish orange season runs from mid-October to mid-January. Turkey is one of the three main suppliers of oranges to Russia. According to Mikhail, Turkey's share of orange supplies to the Russian market amounts to around 13%. In addition to Turkey, Egypt and South Africa also import the fruit. In mid-December Egyptian oranges will actively enter the market and be the primary sales. The prices will be affordable," says Mikhail. The Egyptian orange season runs from mid-November to April-May. "In the past oranges were exported from Spain, but at the moment there is no supply from European countries due to the sanctions," Mikhail adds.
"Today there is a slight deficit of oranges caused by the recent events with Turkey. For a while it was not clear what the future trade policy would be, and there was a little confusion at the border. Most of the deliveries were delayed, due to which, prices increased respectively. The price of Turkish oranges has risen sharply by almost half. The prices of oranges from other countries increased with them. Now the situation has improved and prices are gradually lowering. The food embargo has been lifted until the end of the year, but the lorries of goods are still not arriving. Once they arrive, the quantity of oranges on the market will increase and we hope that the prices will drop," says Mikhail.
"When the market is full of Turkish, Egyptian and South African oranges, each side does not allow the other to increase prices. Competition, as a rule, holds down prices on the market. Prices could increase slightly towards New Year, but not significantly."
"After the ban on the supply of Turkish oranges, Egypt and South Africa will have carte blanche, and most likely the share of imports from these countries will increase," says Mikhail.
According to Mikhail, at the present moment there are no serious problems with the quality of oranges from these countries.
