Shandong's agricultural exports to Russia are expected to maintain their increasing momentum in the coming months as Russia shows interest in buying more such products from the province, according to an official from Shandong's Department of Commerce.

"Shandong has the ability to meet Russia's demand for fruits and vegetables in both quality and quantity," said Lyu Wei, deputy head of Shandong's commerce department.

Lyu said entrepreneurs in Shandong have already noticed the growing demand from Russia. Agricultural exports to Russia in the first eight months of 2014 were valued at $370 million, a year-on-year increase of 15.1 percent.

Shandong, one of China's most developed agricultural regions, exported $15.21 billion worth of agricultural products to overseas markets last year, accounting for 22.7 percent of the country's total agricultural exports, according to statistics provided by the Shandong commerce department. The province has ranked first in the country for agricultural exports for 15 consecutive years.

Lyu said Russia is a major trade partner of Shandong for food and agricultural products. Last year, Shandong exported $490 million worth of agricultural products to Russia and purchased more than $820 million of agricultural products from Russia. Although only accounting for 0.1 percent of the province's total agricultural exports, the share is expected to expand this year.

The main products Shandong sold to Russia were aquatic products, vegetables, fruits, peanuts and meat products.

"More and more agribusiness firms are showing greater interest in exploring the Russian market," Lyu said.

Thirty-three companies from Shandong attended World Food Moscow 2014 from Sept 15 through 18 and signed $20 million worth of contracts, according to the Shandong commerce department. That was eight more participating companies than the previous year.

"Concentrated juice manufacturers in China now face a rare opportunity to expand their business in Russia as Russia moves from America and European countries to other countries," said Zhang Hui, general manager of Yantai North Andre Juice Co Ltd.

"In addition to geographical advantages over countries in Latin America, China has more varieties of fruit than the other Asian countries do," Zhang said.

The company sold 11,000 metric tons of juice to Russia during the first nine months of the year, an 82 percent increase year-on-year.

Zhang predicted similar growth would continue during the coming months.

Lyu highlighted the quality of Shandong's agricultural products.

"Of the agricultural products exported last year, 99.95 percent met the standards required by the destination countries," he said.

"To sharpen the competitive edge in Russia, Shandong's enterprises will produce special flavors for Russian consumers."

Packages will also be tailored to Russian consumers, Lyu said.

On Aug 6, Russia issued a yearlong restriction on agricultural imports from the European Union states, the United States, Canada, Australia and Norway.