The Russian boycott came as a surprise for everyone. Jeroen Buyck (right) of Calsa, located in Ardooie (Belgium), talks about the consequences of the trade war for the export and the investments to gain access to new markets. A market with millions of consumers can’t be replaced from one day to the next.
What were the consequences for Calsa after Russia closed its borders in August last year?
“The boycott was a tough blow that hit us hard. Nobody likes it when a market suddenly disappears. We had to regroup and think a lot about how we would deal with this. The Belgian government offered a limited amount support, which meant we could temporarily lay off our staff. That gave us the opportunity to regroup.”
Calsa has made large investments in new markets, how did you do that?
“We had been looking for new, alternative markets for a while. The boycott has only sped up this process. In addition, we worked harder on markets where we were already active, and we invested in relations on the Balkans and in Southeast Asia. But major results shouldn’t be expected right away on a new market. Building a relationship with those companies takes two to five years. You can’t replace a market like Russia from one day to the next. But when I look back now, I think we got through it unscathed.”
The EU and the Belgian government have established various support measures. What is your opinion on this?
“The compensation plans were mainly for production. That’s not unfair, because the growers also run a major risk, but there could have been more attention paid to the traders. We really only got the temporary unemployment scheme, but more support for entering into new markets would have been more suitable, in my opinion. And besides, the boycott came at an inopportune time. Again, I fully understand that the growers receive compensation, but the trade sector works with razor thin margins. If such a large market then disappears, that’s disastrous. The government doesn’t need to give money, but they are partially responsible. So they need to guide us to new markets. Moscow is 2500 km away from here, and has 15 million inhabitants. Russia has 140 million inhabitants, and is largely dependent on import. You don’t replace such a market just like that.”
Has the boycott also yielded a positive development?
“The sector is forced to look to other markets. This causes us to be more aware of proper distribution of our markets. Hopefully, everyone is now convinced that together, we need to break open those new markets, and that consultation and cooperation is of great importance to complete that mission successfully.”
