To Russia with love?

摘要

WITH virtually no production of its own, it is little wonder that a vast consumer oasis such as Russia has recently found itself a prime target for hordes of fruit and vegetable shippers looking to spread their wings from the constraints of the EU market. Morocco is no exception to the rule, and has joined the ranks of non-EU exporters like Turkey and Egypt in boosting shipments to the big bear. Russia represents 7 per cent of the world's citrus imports, according to figures from the CMPE, Morocco'sCentre for Export Promotion, and is the fourth-largest importer of the product in the world, bringing in some 952,597 tonnes in 2005. Turkey was the primary supplier, the figures show, sending 267,825 tonnes of citrus to the destination in 2005, althoughMorocco was in second place with 236,000 tonnes, followed by Argentina, Egypt and South Africa. The Moroccan Citrus Producers' Association (ASPAM) has confirmed that Russia is now the North African nation's leading single country market for citrus, absorbing 44 per cent of its exports in 2005, only capped by the EU and its many members, who of course share the volumes between them.