Russian citrus imports have risen 45% year-on-year in the second quarter with Egypt and Mexico as the fastest-growing suppliers.

A 269% rise in Egyptian shipments to 111,865 metric tons (MT) makes the Middle Eastern country now the largest citrus supplier to Russia, followed by South Africa (45,284MT) and Argentina (45,198MT).

The Southern Hemisphere suppliers increased shipments by 24% and 5% respectively, while Pakistan also showed significant growth of 229% to 11,544MT.

Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa CEO Justin Chadwick, said the data confirms the reason why market conditions were so difficult during the period with ‘too much fruit’.

“With the Egyptian volumes all being oranges, it is not surprising that the orange market came under pressure from the start of the South African season,” he said.

“South African delegates at World Food Moscow stressed the importance of getting good information as early as possible in the season, and particularly stock figures.

“This is particularly difficult in markets with multiple supply chains and fragmented warehousing, with the added complexity of fruit being trucked in from Western Europe when conditions or importers dictate.

Chadwick said it was expected final analysis would show losses were experienced in the Russian citrus market.

Another major supplier Spain recorded a Russian export jump of 27% to 29,153MT, but competitors Morocco and Turkey registered falls.

Morocco’s citrus shipments to Russia fell 23% to 29,545MT and Turkey’s exports dropped 3% to 19,777MT.

Photo: Flickr, Clyde Robinson

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