Insights
Will Russia become a major exporter on the world market?
The Russian Federation has been a modest exporter of dairy products for some time. The disappointing domestic sales and growing surpluses have led to an increased focus on exports to less traditional sales markets.
A brief piece of recent history
Due to the Russian sanctions in August 2014, the export of dairy products from many major dairy-exporting countries to Russia almost completely came to a standstill. The Russian import bans on dairy were a hard blow for European exporters among others. But the Russian consumers were also left in a tough spot, because a lot of dairy products (including cheese) were traditionally imported. Cheese from Belarus and South America couldn't compensate for the lost imports. In addition to these sanctions, the Russian consumer also experienced the consequences of a significant economic recession, the devaluation of the rouble (RUB), and high inflation.
The Russian government explained the import restrictions from August 2014 at that time as a matter of national security and a deliberate choice to move towards greater self-sufficiency. This provided the agriculture sector with the long-sought support to increase production. Various support measures have since become available for this purpose.
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