Russia could be set to lower the import duty on citrus products within a year of its accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), according to a document seen by Interfax and reported by Agrooglyad.
The document said that import duties on oranges and grapefruits, which currently stand at 5 per cent, €0.02 per kg, will be maintained until Russia joins the WTO.
However, in 2013 the import duty on oranges will drop to 5 per cent but no lower than €0.017 per kg, while on grapefruits it will fall to 5 per cent but no lower than €0.015 per kg.
Duties will also be lowered on mandarin oranges, lemons and limes, the document suggested.
Import duties on grapes, papayas and bananas will remain stable, but will fall for pineapples from 5 per cent to 3 per cent.
Between January and September this year, Russia's citrus imports grew from 873,000 tonnes at US$730.7m to 1m tonnes at US$979.3m.
