Europe has managed to find new markets after Russia enforced the boycott, concludes Moody's. According to a report by the organisation, there have been more exports than in previous years. A footnote is that this positive news doesn't apply to fruits and vegetables. The export decreased by over eleven percent. An oversupply of potatoes in Finland is putting pressure on prices. The country has a small area and therefore receives little compensation from Brussels. The impact on the market, however, is big. After being gone for a year, the salad is returning to the McDonald's menu in Russia. Last year supply faltered and salads were removed, but now new suppliers have been found in North Africa.
Europe finds new markets, but not for fruits and vegetables
Whereas the export to Russia has almost dried up since the boycott, Europe has found new markets for the boycotted products. A study by Moody's points out that the EU even managed to export more since August last year than in the previous year. Despite the boycott, exports reached a high of 12 billion Euro in March 2015. New markets were found mainly in South Korea, China, Turkey, Hong Kong and Egypt. However, it must be noted that the export of fruits and vegetables decreased by 11.5% on a yearly basis between August 2014 and April 2015.
Oversupply of potatoes and meat leads to price decrease in Finland
Due to the closed Russian borders, the Finnish market is being flooded with potatoes, meat and dairy. The oversupply caused the prices to decrease by five to twelve percent. According to the Finnish agricultural organisation MTK, the sector lost 400 million Euro due to the boycott. "It seems support is given to countries with a large agricultural sector, based mainly on volumes and other reason and not based on the problems the Russian boycott is causing," said Santi Sahi, director of MTK. "We are very disappointed with the result." Besides the support from Europe, the Finnish government gave 11 million Euro support to the sector. According to MTK this isn't enough and there also have to be investments into extra storage capacity for the products.
Lettuce back on McDonalds menu
Since the start of the boycott, the American fast food chain had a problem with the supply of lettuce. This caused the vegetable to disappear from the menu. Now McDonald's supplier, Belaya Dacha, has found new suppliers in Turkey and North Africa. The Russian Belaya Dacha confirms the report. Suppliers were found in multiple countries to minimise risk. Before the boycot, McDonald's used products from Italy, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands.
38th aid convoy for Eastern Ukraine
Although the conflict in the Ukraine has been receiving less attention in recent weeks, Russia remains active in the region. Recently, the 38th aid convoy crossed the border with supplies for the Donetsk and Loegansk regions. The 100 trucks were filled with 1,200 tonnes of goods, including food, medicine and books for students. The next convoy is planned for 24 and 30 September. In total, Russia has already transported 45,000 tonnes of goods to Eastern Ukraine since August 2014.
Chinese imports more from Russia
Whereas Russia was mainly seen as a sales market before, this has now changed. The Chinese are importing more agrarian products, mainly from eastern Russia, and investors are crossing the border to invest in agriculture. A grower in Primorye says that whereas the products were usually sold in Russia, China is now buying everything. However, there are concerns in the border region from Chinese investors about the consequences for the soil and the mono culture most Chinese agriculturists are setting up.
Russia lowers Iranian import charges
The import charges for products from Iran have been lowered. Russia hopes to expand the trade with this measure. It concerns a large decrease from 27 percent to 2-7 percent. Although the Iranian trade have responded positively, they are cautious.
Norwegian support for the Ukraine
The Norwegian ambassador in Kiev has told the Ukrainian media that the country can count on the support of the Scandinavian country for now. Norway will continue the economic sanctions against Russia for as long as the conflict lasts, despite the country losing the large Russian fish market due to the boycott. Norway, like Switzerland, also has a free trade treaty with the Ukraine, and vegetables, fruit and grain are already being imported from the country.
