Egypt intends to increase its exports of vegetable and fruits to the Russian market to one million tonnes by the end of 2016, an official from the Egyptian Agricultural Export Council said Tuesday. Mustafa El-Nagari, Head of the Rice Committee of the Egyptian Agricultural Export Council, told Amwal Al Ghad that the North African country's agricultural exports to Russia reached 800,000 tonnes worth US$524 million in 2015. The anticipated increase will be through exporting higher value-added products, particularly tomatoes, plums, and apricots, El-Nagari said. Egypt is seeking an opportunity and is ready to meet the Russian market needs following Moscow's decision to ban Turkish imports as part of imposed sanctions. In November, Russian President Vladimir Putin imposed a raft of punitive economic sanctions against Turkey, underlining the depth of the Kremlin's anger after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane. Earlier, Egyptian Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Qabil said his country is interested to meet the Russian market's needs, notably of the products used to be imported from Turkey. The Turkish exports to Russia mainly include vegetables and fruits, which capture 66 percent, followed by clothes and leather.
