Russia Extends Ban on European Produce, Boosting Moroccan Exports

Several Spanish producer and exporter organizations have denounced the extension of this embargo by Russian President Vladimir Putin. For the employers’ association of fruit and vegetable producers and exporters (FEPEX), this measure is causing huge damage to Spanish producers who exported 230,000 tons of fruits and vegetables to Russia and "who have stopped doing so overnight." In 2014, citrus exports from Valencia accounted for 70% of Spanish exports to the Russian market, making the region the main production area affected, reports EFE.

To read: Morocco Leads Non-EU Fresh Produce Imports to Spain, Topping €423 Million

According to the president of the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA), Cristóbal Aguado, the fruit and vegetable sector has been one of the most affected by Moscow’s boycott, particularly citrus fruits and persimmons. "Six years is an eternity in the fresh produce trade and the recovery of this market will be difficult," Aguado said, stressing that the situation benefits Morocco, Egypt and Turkey, to whom Russian importers have turned to supply themselves with fruits and vegetables. Aguado also accuses Brussels, which has also announced the extension of sanctions against Russia, of "turning its back on farmers" with the closure of this market, causing a loss in the value of fruits due to the surplus supply.

To read: EU Imports of Moroccan Produce Surge: Tomatoes Lead 9% Growth in 2020

"We continue to demand that what enters Europe be controlled, because our markets are becoming more and more European, sales abroad are not increasing and much less with the Russian veto," said Andrés Góngora, the Fruits and Vegetables manager of COAG, deploring the "lack of interest of the European Commission for the sector". The UPA, for its part, demands "that the food sectors be kept out of this type of political disputes that have nothing to do with them".