Deputy head of Rosselkhoznadzor Karmazin told which countries will supply apples to Russia.
A small fruit crop failure is predicted in Russia due to May frosts. This was reported to TASS by Anton Karmazin, Deputy Head of Rosselkhoznadzor, referring to the forecast of the Ministry of Agriculture.
But he promised that there will be no shortage of apples and their price rise on the Russian market. The fruit will be imported from countries friendly to Russia - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Serbia, Transnistria and Turkey.
Karmazin specified that Russia annually imports about 12 million tons of fruits and vegetables from near and far abroad. These are mainly bananas, mangoes and berries.
According to Rosselkhoznadzor, 178.3 thousand tons of apples have been imported into the country since the beginning of the year.
Earlier, Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut said that the authorities are considering the possibility of supplying apples from other countries to prevent price increases. According to her, the fruit is included in the list of socially important products. The apple crop failure is expected due to May frosts.
In Central Russia, 50-70% of flowering apple trees were damaged, according to Igor Mukhanin, president of the Association of Fruit, Berry and Planting Material Producers. Voronezh, Lipetsk, Rostov and Tambov regions have been hardest hit. The harvest is expected in Tula and Krasnodar.
The Ministry of Agriculture was planning to introduce a federal emergency regime in Russia due to crop damage.