European fruit growers bruised by Russian sanctions

The UK Guardian ^ | September 18, 2014 | Jennifer Rankin

[Bettyprob]

Moscow's tit-for-tat ban on imports of fruits and vegetables over Ukraine crisis leaves EU producers facing bleak autumn

When Russia banned imports of Polish apples in July, politicians and the public laughed off the move by posing with the forbidden fruit on Twitter. Everyone from the head of the national security bureau to TV presenters posted gleeful photos, making the "Eat apples to annoy Putin" campaign a social media hit.

Six weeks later, after the Kremlin extended its ban to all European fresh produce, from Greek peaches to German gherkins and Lithuanian cauliflowers, eating apples as a political statement is wearing thin. "In the beginning there was a slight growth in consumption, but now it has gone back to normal," says Jolanta Kazimierska, head of the Polish Fruit Union.

Last year Poland sold €840m (£670m) of produce to Russia, including a quarter of all its apples – 1m tonnes of golden delicious, gala, champion and others. Now the trees are heavy with unsold fruit, leaving some growers on the brink of bankruptcy, according to Kazimierska. "We are just praying that this situation improves because if it does not, we are facing real disaster."

Prices have fallen to 0.9 zlotys (17p) per kilo, meaning the farmer barely recoups the cost of production, she said. But the full extent of the damage will only become clear at the end of the month when growers harvest all the apples grown for the Russian market.

[logi_cal869]

[Rockpile]

European governments could fund partial salvaging of some of this food production by buying up part of the crops and having them canned instead of letting it all go to rot.

They would then have a bit more national food reserves or maybe a supply for refugees or whatever creative uses could be thought of. They are big ecofreaks over there so what about using some of the food for ethanol production? In any event letting so much go to waste is disgusting.

[j. earl carter]

European governments salvage some of this food production by buying up part of the crops and having them canned instead of letting it all go to rot.

Or, they could press the apples and ferment the juice, just like the pioneers did here in Ohio. Johny Appleseed was real, and he knew what people liked to drink.