Russian market now open to Philippine farm exports

MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) announced that traders can now supply locally produced Hass avocados, calamansi and okra to Russia.

This is a move seen to expand the country’s presence in the global market.

In a notice, the BPI’s National Plant Quarantine Services Division said that market access to Russia has been officially opened.

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“Exporters may now commence shipments of these commodities, provided that all phytosanitary requirements are strictly met,” it read.

Traders need to secure a phytosanitary certificate from the nearest plant quarantine station before shipping fruit and vegetables to Russia. This is to ensure these are pest-free.

Moreover, exporters should comply with the special phytosanitary quarantine requirements set forth by the Eurasian Economic Union or EAEU.

This was the outcome of a meeting between the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the representative of the Russian Federation to the Philippines. This was held in November 2022 to tackle agricultural trade relations and possible technical collaborations.

In that meeting, Russia discussed its concerns on market access, particularly on poultry.

For its part, the Philippines expressed its interest in providing agricultural commodities such as okra, calamansi and avocados.

The DA had said the global market for Hass avocados was projected to reach $18 billion this year based on estimates.

The Hass is an avocado cultivar known for its smaller size and pebbly skin that turns purplish-black when ripe.

Elsewhere, the Philippines exported $192.31 million worth of agricultural goods to European Union (EU) member countries as of February. This is according to the Philippine Statistics Authority or PSA.

The shipment of farm goods to EU nations accounted for 22.4 percent of the country’s agricultural exports. The Netherlands emerged as the leading destination of agricultural commodities.

“Animal, vegetable, or microbial fats and oils and their cleavage products; prepared edible fats; animal or vegetable waxes commodity group was the top agricultural exports to EU member countries,” the statistics agency said.

In return, the country imported $104.56 million worth of agricultural products from the EU, primarily from Spain.

Meat and edible meat offal commodities were the leading agricultural imports from European countries.