One of Moscow's major fresh produce wholesale centres has found itself at the centre of what are said to be the worst riots in Russia in three years, after a group of more than 1,000 people apparently stormed the premises on Sunday in protest at the alleged murder of a local young Russian, Yegor Shcherbakov.
According to reports, authorities in the Russian capital closed the Pokrovskaya vegetable warehouse complex in the southern district of Biryulyovo and detained 1,200 protestors, who are said to have launched a violent attack on the facility because they believed the murderer to be a warehouse employee.
Pokrovskaya, which covers around 120,000m2 and generates an estimated turnover of US$10m per day, is known to employ large numbers of migrant workers. On Tuesday, Reuters quoted police as saying they had detained a native of Azerbaijan, Orhan Zeynalov, on suspicion of fatally stabbing Shcherbakov last Thursday.
A leading player in the Russian fresh produce business told Eurofruit: 'Pokrovskaya warehouse was partially closed on October 14, and in the evening Russian officials announced that it is closed forever and will be transferred outside Moscow.'
Noting that companies operating at Pokrovskaya were being asked to throw away all of their fruit and vegetables before relocating to a new and, as yet, undisclosed location, the source added: 'I cannot imagine what owners of fruit companies [at the centre] feel about their business and we all cannot estimate the circumstances from this crisis. This will turn market into chaos.'
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