Polish apple exporter Eurosad believes the country's apple shippers may struggle to regain the position they once held in Russian supermarkets before the implementation of the food import ban.

Eurosad representative Ilona Kołacz

Company representative Ilona Kołacz told www.freshfruitportal.com contact between Polish suppliers and Russian buyers had been severely reduced over the last year.

"Before the trade embargo a lot of Polish exporters worked with big supermarket chains, but right now contact with these clients is insignificant," she said.

"It is a strong possibility that when the embargo comes to an end, Polish suppliers will have a really tough time rebuilding their position in the Russian market with Russian clients."

Kołacz added that many Polish fruit producers grew varieties geared toward the Russian market, making it at times hard to find alternative markets.

She also mentioned there had been a 'breakdown' of a lot of Polish farms because of low prices.

"A lot of Polish producers sold apples at the beginning of the season at very low prices, and so they were not profitable at all. This year was a waste of money for Polish producers" Kołacz said.

"Smallholder growers who didn't have savings are experiencing serious financial problems at the moment. In addition, many fruit processors in Poland took advantage of the embargo and offered really low prices for fruit."

Kołacz added that as many producers had sold their apples at the beginning of the season in anticipation of price declines later on, she had not witnessed issues with oversupply.

www.freshfruitportal.com