Russia has become the fourth-largest destination for Peruvian table grape exports since shipments began arriving there in the 2005-06 season, according to agriculture news website Agraria.pe.

In the 2009-10 season, 6,600 metric tons of table grapes were sent to Russia, an increase of 238.2% from the same period last year, when shipments reached 1,900 MT, the website said.

In terms of value, grape exports to Russia are valued at US $13.5 million in 2009-10, an increase of 285.8% over last year, which posted a value of US $3.5 million.

The export volume has surprised growers, said Fernando Cillóniz, president of fruit consultancy Inform@cción, according to the website.

“Russia … is among the biggest emerging nations that are consuming primary materials and food, making our economy more dynamic,” he is quoted as saying.

He said Peruvian growers are already seeing results from the World Food of Moscow expo held in September.  The city, with 14 million people, distributes 70% of fresh products to different points throughout the country, the website said.

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com