What a strange reaction to the sanctions the West put on Russia.
Russia bans food imports from U.S. and European nations.
MOSCOW — Russia on Thursday banned all imports of meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and milk products from the United States, the European Union and several other countries that have hit it with sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, dealing a multibillion-dollar hit to those nations but also unreeling wide-ranging consequences at home.
At home in Russia, the food measures promised to hit not only city centers, where the urban middle class has grown accustomed to visiting supermarkets overflowing with high-quality imported European cheeses, fish and sausages. Analysts warned that food prices would increase and that a wide range of Russian industries, including food processing plants, shippers and retailers, would be affected.
Russian imports of U.S. agricultural products total about $1 billion a year. From the E.U., the figure was $15.8 billion in 2013. Imports include grains and other raw products that feed Russia’s 144 million residents.
The ban will not return Russian grocery stores to Soviet-era inventory levels — food from Asia, Turkey and South America will keep flowing — but it did appear to deal a major blow to 23 years of gains and Westernization in the consumer market since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Russia is highly dependent on imports for much of its food, and analysts said the restrictions are likely to drive up food prices in the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...9f5bea-1e14-11e4-82f9-2cd6fa8da5c4_story.html
[BTW, the U.S. exports $1.2B dollars worth of food to Russia. This represents about 1.0% of all U.S. food exports, meaning we won't be affected much, if at all.]
Russia bans food imports from U.S. and European nations.
MOSCOW — Russia on Thursday banned all imports of meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and milk products from the United States, the European Union and several other countries that have hit it with sanctions over the conflict in Ukraine, dealing a multibillion-dollar hit to those nations but also unreeling wide-ranging consequences at home.
At home in Russia, the food measures promised to hit not only city centers, where the urban middle class has grown accustomed to visiting supermarkets overflowing with high-quality imported European cheeses, fish and sausages. Analysts warned that food prices would increase and that a wide range of Russian industries, including food processing plants, shippers and retailers, would be affected.
Russian imports of U.S. agricultural products total about $1 billion a year. From the E.U., the figure was $15.8 billion in 2013. Imports include grains and other raw products that feed Russia’s 144 million residents.
The ban will not return Russian grocery stores to Soviet-era inventory levels — food from Asia, Turkey and South America will keep flowing — but it did appear to deal a major blow to 23 years of gains and Westernization in the consumer market since the breakup of the Soviet Union. Russia is highly dependent on imports for much of its food, and analysts said the restrictions are likely to drive up food prices in the country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...9f5bea-1e14-11e4-82f9-2cd6fa8da5c4_story.html
[BTW, the U.S. exports $1.2B dollars worth of food to Russia. This represents about 1.0% of all U.S. food exports, meaning we won't be affected much, if at all.]
