Poland fails to win new markets for apples

After Russia imposed an embargo on food imported from the West, Polish growers find it difficult to win alternative markets for apples. Marek Gawlik, the president of the Polish Saudi Business Council, who was seeking a supplier to deliver apples to Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, argues that the reasons are manifold, including low quality of fruits and high price. “None of the suppliers was able to deliver the required amount of apples. One company withdrew from the contract after the down payment was made. The other failed to meet the quality requirements. The third one has raised the price by 100% in a week,” Gawlik was quoted as saying by Polish daily Puls Biznesu. In return, Polish growers argue that they can not meet the quality requirements if the price is too low. Roman Cybulski, the president of the Fruit and Vegetables Producers Organization “Jabłuszko”, says that there are many who want to buy top quality apples for €0.2-0.3 per kg. “These apples can not be cheaper than €0.65,” he added. Poland remains one of the biggest apple exporters in the world, however prices for apples have declined by half at the end of 2014, compared with 2013.