Fruit growers in the United Kingdom are suffering from the impact of Russian sanctions on EU food imports, which are lowering the price of their produce by up to a quarter. Russia has banned fruit imports from EU nations, which has led to a surplus of tree-grown fruit on the Continent.
The problem has been compounded by a very good harvest this year, which traditionally lowers prices anyway.
Values of fruit have fallen between 20-25% this year.
A Kent fruit grower said “The Russian market for fresh produce has disappeared almost overnight thanks to their self imposed ban on food imported from the EU as retaliation for EU sanctions.
“This is pushing cheaper imports into the UK and combined with a bumper top fruit harvest, prices are at low levels not seen for many years.”