The Russian government has approved a resolution exempting the import of up to 100,000 tons of tomatoes from customs duties until May 31, 2024.
According to the government's press release, the decision is geared towards securing stable prices for this commodity by augmenting its supply in the domestic market.
Customs benefits will apply to the import of medium and large-sized tomatoes, excluding ribbed, elongated, and cherry varieties.
The resolution was prepared to implement the decision of the Eurasian Economic Commission on granting tariff preferences for the import of certain types of tomatoes into Russia, adopted on January 26, 2024.
The base duty rate for tomato imports is 10% of the customs value, not less than 0.053 euros per kilogram.
As previously reported, the Ministry of Agriculture proposed the duty-free import of tomatoes, initially suggesting an import volume of 130,000 tons. The EEC reduced this figure to 100,000 tons.
Andrey Slepnov, the Minister for Trade of the EEC, observes a trend where agricultural producers partially shift focus from one type of tomato to another. Additionally, there's a rise in consumer demand. Given the constraints on significantly increasing greenhouse tomato production, importation can aid in short-term market balance. Specifically, Slepnov mentions imports from Turkey, China, Egypt, and Iran, whose pricing is comparable to domestic production.
According to Rosstat, as of March 25, tomato prices in Russia have risen by 20.4% since the beginning of the year.
source: interfax.ru