Moldova (bbabo.net), - On the Moldovan market in the first half of February, compared to the January level, wholesale prices increased by 8-10% on average only for apples of the cheapest varieties - Idared, Renet Simirenko and some others. Prices for apples of more expensive varieties have practically not changed for almost a month - since the second half of January, analysts report. At the moment, the difference in price for the best "Idared", and, for example, apples of some clones "Gala", "Golden Delicious", "Granny Smith" of average quality is no more than 1-2 lei / kg ($ 0.05-0 ,1/kg), reports east-fruit.com

Fruit market operators note that most of the Moldovan apples of conditionally premium varieties and high quality are sent by agricultural producers and trading companies to Russia directly to supermarket chains or to intermediary traders supplying these chains. Deliveries are carried out within the framework of more or less long-term contracts, purchase prices are relatively stable - "rarely change from week." At the same time, competition in Russian network retail is quite high.

In Russian supermarkets, Moldovan apples compete in winter with apples from Turkey, European "re-export" and Russian apples of expensive varieties. The availability of alternatives does not allow Moldovan suppliers to raise prices, in their words, "you have to be content with little in order to maintain relatively high export volumes." At the same time, the export of Moldovan apples of expensive varieties and high quality not to the Russian market at the end of last year - the beginning of this year has slightly intensified, but still remains at a relatively low level.

Moldovan "Idared" and apples of other conditionally obsolete varieties in Russia are purchased mainly by suppliers of wholesale and retail markets-bazaars and shops of the "economy" segment. In the last month of winter there are no apples of cheap varieties of own production on the Russian market, or they are clearly not enough to cover the demand of low-income strata of the population. The legal alternative, excluding re-export from Poland and Ukraine, is only cheap apples from Iran and Moldova.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that the average wholesale price for Idared on the Russian market is almost twice as high as the wholesale price for apples of this and other obsolete varieties on the Moldovan fruit market. Obviously, this price difference opens up a wider “window of opportunity” for Moldovan exporters-intermediaries. Whereas apples of expensive varieties are exported to the Russian market in a measured "planned mode" established by supermarket buyers.

bbabo.Net