Turkey wants the WTO to make a ruling on the Russian boycott. According to Ankara, Moscow is breaching international agreements by closing its borders. Russia is convinced that this is not the case. According to reports, the first exporters in Turkey have closed their doors. They are the first victims of the boycott. The Russian government has presented their harvest figures for 2015. According to these numbers, a record volume was harvested in 2015. In addition, 30 tons of Polish mushrooms were destroyed and the phytosanitary service visited a few companies in Belarus. Ukraine is working on a free trade agreement with Turkey and Israel.
Turkey - Russia conflict for WTO
The Turkish President Erdogan has contacted the WTO regarding the Russian boycott. Ankara is preparing to ask the WTO to examine the boycott. Turkey says it is collecting evidence that Russia has violated WTO regulations. Russia is convinced that the WTO will rule in their favor. According to the government in Moscow, when the boycott was announced, all the international laws and treaties were taken into account.
First Turkish exporters go bankrupt
According to reports in the Turkish media, the first exporters in Antalya, who exclusively exported to Russia, have closed their doors. The exporters were forced to look at the domestic market now that the Russian border is closed. That caused significant price declines, especially for tomatoes.
Turkish export fell last year mainly due to fluctuations in the exchange rate and political crises. Over the entire year export fell by 8.7%.
The instability in the region caused export to these markets to fall by 2.4 billion dollars. The increasing tension with Russia caused export to this country to fall by 12% in December.
The exchange rate distorts the story. When calculated in Euro, export rose from 48.3 billion Euro to 53 billion Euro. However, the final figures are calculated in dollars, which results in a loss of 12.9 billion dollars.
Russian inspection service visits companies in Belarus
The Russian inspection service will visit a few companies in Belarus. They will visit mushroom farms and soft fruit growers. Russia says that this is a routine inspection.
Lemon prices rise in Ukraine
According to figure from APK-Inform, the price of lemons has increased in almost all the wholesale markets in Ukraine. The largest increase was recorded in Khmelnitsky, where the price rose from 1.30-1.38 Euro to 1.53-1.61 Euro per kilo in one week. The price is 1.7 times higher than it was last year. On the wholesale market in Kiev the price rose from 1.15-1.38 Euro to 1.34-1.53 per kilo. The most expensive lemons are 74% more expensive than in the last weeks of 2014. According to analysts, the increase is due to the high demand around New Year's and a limited supply.
Russian record harvest in 2015
The Russian Ministry of Agriculture published last year's harvest figures. According to the numbers, a record 16.1 million tons of vegetables were harvested, compared to 15.5 million tons a year earlier. This number is also 12.3% higher than the five year average.
Greenhouse vegetable yields came out to 470,900 tons, which includes 337,000 tons of cucumbers, 123,400 tons of tomatoes and 10,500 tons of other greenhouse vegetables. The potato harvest totaled 33.6 million tons, which is 15.9% higher than the five year average. The fruit harvest is at 2.9 million tons, which is 5% higher than the five year average.
Russia destroys 30 tons of Polish mushrooms
The Russian phytosanitary service intercepted 30 tons of Polish mushrooms and destroyed them. Two trucks with Belarus license plates were stopped in Rostov. The cargo, 30 tons of mushrooms, was accompanied by documents that stated that the goods were from Belarus. On closer inspection the Russians discovered that the crates stated that the goods were originally from Poland.
Ukraine wants free trade agreement with Turkey and Israel
The Ukrainian government is negotiating with Turkey and Israel entering into a free trade agreement. These markets are important destinations for the Ukrainian export of grain and seed oil. If this agreement is signed the export of these products will increase. The Ukrainian government sees a lot of potential in Turkey now that the country has been boycotted by Russia.
