An embargo is a sanction that some countries apply to a state that has violated international rights. What is a food embargo ? This means the cessation of the supply of certain goods and trade in general. If an embargo was applied to the country, this implies the detention of ships with cargo and the prohibition of them entering the ports of the states that made this ban valid.
What is a food embargo?
The embargo is a ban. This means that you cannot import goods from countries that have applied sanctions to Russia. This applies to agricultural products, raw materials and food. An embargo on the import of products into the Russian Federation was introduced on August 6, 2014 by President V. Putin.
Embargoed Countries
The European Union, the USA, Australia, Norway and Canada fell under the import ban. But since the EU is almost independent of Russia's exports (less than 1%), the economy has not suffered serious losses. EU countries also intend to pay a certain amount of money to those states that have suffered from the embargo. The money that will be used for this will be taken from the fund to help victims of political persecution.
Sanctions did least damage to Luxembourg. And huge damage suffered Lithuania, Poland, Estonia and Finland. In general, European Union countries reacted differently to the ban. Someone’s economy has suffered more, but someone’s less.
Grocery list
The list of products prohibited for import into the Russian Federation includes cattle meat (in any form), pork (in any form), edible offal of poultry, various types of fish, and aquatic invertebrates. As well as dairy, sausage and cheese products, vegetables, fruits and nuts.
An updated list of products has recently been published, which replaced the old one. It has several differences. For example, requirements for lactose-free products have become tougher. If earlier it was allowed to import dairy or lactose-free products, now you can import only the list that is intended for dietary treatment or prevention.
In connection with the embargo, the list of products that are now banned is approximately the following: meat, edible offal, crustaceans, milk and dairy products, various vegetables, fruits. Also, the ban on the export of edible root crops and tubers has not been canceled.
Products not affected by the ban
Some items were not limited in supply to the Russian Federation: baby food, specialized lactose-free milk, biological additives, protein concentrates, vitamin and mineral complexes. Russia allowed the import of vegetables that are intended for sowing: potatoes, corn, onions and peas.
Confectionery and flowers were also not included in the restricted list.
Economic implications for Russia
In addition to the fact that the range of certain types of products was reduced, the ban on imports also introduced some undesirable changes in the economic sphere. The embargo on food imports to the Russian Federation, combined with other factors, had negative consequences for the economy. Only in half of this year, salaries decreased by 8.5%, and the combined price of food for one month, on the contrary, increased by more than 14%. You can see that people began to save on purchases, especially on food.
Companies that specialized in the supply of food also suffered from the embargo on food. They began to produce new products from not very high-quality ingredients, but cheap, and the price of such products also became less. Some companies also reduce the quality of packaging, changing containers to cheaper ones.
Product Range Changes
It takes three to four years to replace all banned products with new ones. Some grocery stores, despite the prohibited import of products into Russia, trade in smuggling. They transport goods through Kazakhstan or Belarus.
In connection with the embargo on the importation of products into the Russian Federation, there are problems with the amount of nutrition needed to treat patients with lactose deficiency. There may be problems with the number of products for diabetics and allergy sufferers, as well as with sports nutrition - there are simply not enough such products.
Prices for some products have risen dramatically, for example, buckwheat has doubled in price. The price of eggs, sugar, fish, tea, flour products and sunflower oil was also raised.
Embargo extension
In response to continued sanctions by EU countries, the Russian Federation will also extend the embargo on food imports. The extension has already become known - for one year.
The country also conducted a survey among the population about how people relate to the extension of the embargo and how this ban changed their lives.
According to the survey, more than 80% of Russians support the idea of extending the embargo on the import of products into the Russian Federation from the EU and the USA.
People believe that the ban on imports has positively affected the state of the economy. Half of the respondents also said that they did not notice any changes.
There was a statement that sanctions against Russia were illegal. They also said that Russia would act on the basis of the principle of reciprocity. If the sanctions are lifted, the country will also lift the embargo.
The reaction of countries not covered by the ban
Countries to which the Russian embargo on food did not apply have benefited enormously. For example, for Serbia this is a chance to increase the level of its economy by supplying its country's products to the territory of the Russian Federation. They will deliver quality products in a huge assortment. Macedonia already exports fruits and vegetables to the country. Belarus is determined to help Russia: it will not allow the EU countries to supply products through its territory. She also supplies us with mussels, coconuts and octopuses.
Brazil actively supplies beef and chicken meat. Turkey is one of the largest suppliers to Russia. And this country, in addition to fruits and vegetables, signed a contract for the supply of milk and honey.
Chile exports to Russia seafood, it is also the largest supplier of fish. Mauritius and Ecuador are going to become suppliers of fish to the Russian Federation. South Africa delivers a huge number of different fruits.
Egypt, in addition to joining the Customs Union, also promises to become a supplier of various products.
Some countries received huge benefits from the ban on the import of goods from several countries into Russia, because in this way they decided to increase profits. And if the profit is huge, this will make it possible to raise the country's economy to a higher level. In addition, domestic manufacturers have the opportunity to prove that our products are no worse than European ones.