11/9/06 Fantastic Opportunities

Fantastic Opportunites. I'm Greg Martin with today's Fruit Grower Report. It has been a good year for fruit growers in the Pacific Northwest and when it comes to the export market there are some fantastic opportunities according to Matthew Tripodi, client relations manager for Euromonitor International in Chicago. He recently spoke at the Produce Marketing Association Fresh Summit workshop where he said the outlook for U.S. exports to Russia is expected to nearly triple by 2010, with fruit and nut exports topping $125 million. Apples, pears, grapes, stone fruits and grapefruit will "lead the way on that." Russia`s population is declining, Tripodi said, but the population of the major metropolitan areas of Moscow and St. Petersburg are remaining relatively stable due to inflow from other areas. Those cities, which account for a combined total of about 11 percent of Russia`s population, consume nearly all the imported products. "Moscow is estimated to consume around 90 percent" of the goods Russia imports and most of the rest is consumed in St. Petersburg. Retail development in Russia is "helping to popularize fruits and vegetables" by offering produce in greater variety, higher quality and with better reliability of supply. Those are all things at which U.S. producers excel, Tripodi said. That's today's Fruit Grower Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.