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Anastasia Balezdrova

The embargo imposed by Moscow on a number of agricultural products from European Union member states has caused serious problems among peach producers from northern Greece. Three days ago, a convoy of 3,000 refrigerated trucks loaded with peaches and nectarines was returned because the trucks were not allowed to go to Russia.

The farmers from the Imathia region in northern Greece that produces 140,000 tons of peaches and 60,000 tons of nectarines per year are the most affected by the embargo. According to chairman of the union of producer associations in the region Christos Yiannakakis the returned quantity of fruit produced in Imathia region alone is 12,000 tons. "We are now turning our efforts to sell the products to our customers in Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary at lower prices in order to avoid their return here," he told GRReporter. If they fail to find a market for the fruit, it will probably spoil and the producers will have to throw it out.

Each year, 60% of exports of peaches and nectarines are destined for the Russian market. The total amount of Greek fruit that has been left in the trucks after the imposition of the embargo is 30 tons. Yiannakakis pointed out that the price at which producers sell in Russia is 0.53 euro per kilogram but they are now forced to reduce it in order to sell their products in the East European countries previously mentioned. "Peaches retain their quality for 15 days after being placed in the refrigerators, and it gradually lowers afterwards," stated Yiannakakis.

He added that the Greek Ministry of Agricultural Development has launched the procedure for assessing the damage incurred because of the Russian embargo. "So far they have described the amounts in the refrigerated trucks. However, the season is still in full swing and it is expected that more than 13,000 tons of peaches and nectarines will be picked in our area alone. Compensations should be paid for the losses that we are incurring due to the fact that we are forced to sell some quantities for the production of juices at a price of 0.05 euro per kilogram."

According to Yiannakakis, the problem will become even more serious in the coming months because the list of products that are intended for the Russian market includes other fruits such as strawberries and apples.

"So far, the European Commission has approved the allocation of 420 million euro from the crisis management fund for the payment of compensation to farmers in all European Union member states. We can definitely say that the money is not enough." He added that the producers from South European countries have undertaken to act together and unite their opinions and demands to the administration in Brussels.

According to the Greek media, the government in Athens is leading informal talks with Russia to limit the negative effects of the embargo on the Greek agricultural production, although the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not have high expectations for positive developments.

The producers in turn hope that the deficit of goods could force Moscow to change its firm position. "We have information that there is already a lack of goods as well as price increases in the Russian market. Russia cannot meet its demand from other markets," concluded Yiannakakis.