Russians are eating more fruit and changing the types of fruit they consume as their disposable incomes increase and they become more concerned with healthy eating.
According to a new report published by the US Department of Agriculture, data supplied by the Russian Federation Statistic Committee showed that consumption of fruit in Russia increased to 71kg per capita in 2010, up 10 per cent compared with the previous year.
Despite the rise, Russia's total fruit consumption remains significantly lower than consumption levels in the US, Europe, Japan and China.
'For example, according to the Economic Research Service, the typical American consumes 122.5kg of fruit and tree nuts (fresh and processed) each year,' the USDA report stated.
'Fruit consumption in Russia varies widely depending on geographic location,' it added. 'In rural areas and cities with population under 100,000 people, Russians tend to consume locally grown fruits and vegetables where a lot of canning is traditionally done in order to preserve fruits and vegetables for out-of-season consumption.'
Consumption of fruit, especially imported produce, was found to be substantially higher in urban areas such as Moscow, St Petersburg and Vladivostok.
In Russia, 10.6 percent of the average food spend is reportedly on fresh fruit.
Citing research by the RBK Department of Consulting, the USDA noted that an average Russian household's weekly spending on food products ranged from Rb3,632 (€85.98, US$114.29) in Moscow to Rb2,809 (US$89.27, €66.5) in a city with less than 500,000 inhabitants.
