Russia is Looking for New Suppliers
Following the ban on food imports with the EU and the U.S., the Russian authorities have started looking for new suppliers.
Following the ban on food imports with the EU and the U.S., the Russian authorities have started looking for new suppliers.
This reports the news and information resource Russia Behind the Headlines (RBTH).
The government's primary expectations are to secure supplies from Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, Switzerland, and Latin America as well as to establish more production inside Russia.
- The sanctions introduced by the Russian authorities will affect about 10 percent of agricultural exports, says Chief Analyst Alaxei Kozlov at the investment company UFS IC.
Two options
The analyst sees two possible ways out of the situation. The first one is to replace the whole or part of the affected imports by supplies from other countries.
- This route is the simplest and fastest, but it fails to address many problems, he says.
- It preserves our country's dependence on foreign producers, does not promote the development of the domestic agricultural sector or create new jobs, Kozlov continues.
The other way out is to substitute imports with domestic produce.
- This path will be more difficult and requires capital investment but it is the most effective for the economy, the Chief Analyst concludes.
Takes time
According to the head of the Arkaim consulting company, Alexander Dorofeyev, there are some products that it will be difficult to substitute. These are mainly products from the premium segment, like some types of hard cheeses.
Dorofeyev believes that the fastest to be substituted will be those products that account for a small share of EU food imports, for example fish, only 13 percent of which is supplied from the EU.
According to RBTH over 30 foreign suppliers have been cleared to export food to Russia since August 7.