News on Potato Trade from the Russian Federation

A deal to export 2,000t of Scottish seed potatoes to Russia has been scrapped by PepsiCo following criticism of the arrangement. The food and drinks company said "a couple of lorries" had already left Scottish farms this week, but following discussion with growers, the decision had been made to stop future shipments.

Earlier today, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski announced in an email to staff and franchisees that McDonald's will temporarily close its restaurants and pause operations in Russia.

In the Russian potato market, the upward trend in prices continues, and they just reached a record level over the past few years, analysts of the EastFruit project report.

EastFruit analysts predict that Russia may sharply increase the volume of imports of potatoes from Egypt in the 2020/21 season.

In a reversal of policy, the Russian government last week modified its prohibition on several types of food imports from the United States, Canada, the EU, and other Western countries to allow for the importation of seed potatoes.

Vladimir Putin has banned the import of agricultural goods from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia in a tit-for-tat move that deepens the economic standoff between the Kremlin and the west.

Russia will start importing Dutch seed potatoes again, once a quality inspection has deemed them suitable. This could mean a 10 million euro export opportunity for companies.

The expectations were positive, but the doors to Russia are still closed for the European potato and seed potato sector.

n September, Russia imported 15,259 tons of potatoes with a value of 5 million dollars.