The ban on the import of food products from the EU and the ruble crisis caused a rise in Russian agriculture. According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, Russia’s revenues from exports of agricultural products exceeded the profits from the sale of weapons.
Since President Vladimir Putin announced an embargo on the import of Western food in Russia increased the number of farmers. According to the author of the article Benjamin Bidder, farmers quickly became the darlings of the Russian media that promote import substitution. “It is a dream of Moscow — to the confrontation with the West could make Russia stronger than it was before,” — writes the German journalist.
As notes the edition, in 2014, Russian agriculture is experiencing a period of significant recovery. Almost a quarter century after the collapse of the Soviet Union, farmland in the country was desolate. And now the share of agriculture of Russia in the country’s economy has grown, while in other countries the opposite is true.
The depreciation of the ruble made Russian goods more competitive on the world market. Particularly successful in this respect, the production of grain and poultry, the newspaper notes. In the autumn of 2014 the Russian farmers are practically no competitors in the domestic market. The number of imported cheeses in the country for the year decreased from 48 to 23 percent, pork — from 18 percent to 9 percent, says Der Spiegel.
However, Benjamin Bidder believes that with the revival of Russian agriculture is not so rosy, it is not clear whether the troubled sector more competitive in the long term. After all, the greatest success has now reached the area of agriculture, which used to produce products not only for domestic consumption but also for export to world markets.
Russian manufacturers are only partly able to replace the missing products from the EU, says the author. So, the import of European vegetables has dramatically decreased in 2014, however, Russian production in this sector increased only slightly, from 14.7 to 16.1 million tons per year. Also Benjamin Bidder writes about probeme milk production. According to experts, the Russian milk producers will need eight to ten years to become competitive on a global level.
The author believes that if the EU lifted sanctions, and the Kremlin will repeal the embargo, domestic production will again be under pressure from foreign competition, which it will not stand.
We will remind, Russia this year goes to a leading global position in the export of grain. This is due to the record harvest, which will allow Russia without prejudice to domestic consumers to sell to foreign markets about 30 million tons of wheat, said the Financial Times.
This fall the fields will gather around 70 million tons of grain, emphasizes the publication. “The harvest in Russia is really impressive,” notes the analyst of the International grains Council, Amy Reynolds.
On the background of strengthening of positions of Russia in this sector in many African countries and Gulf countries refuse American and Australian grain supply. In addition, “into the hands of Moscow and plays a decline in prices for transportation, thanks to which even such distant States as South Africa and Mexico can also switch to Russian grain”, — experts stress the Financial Times.
In turn, the European Union, which were leading in the export of wheat last year, is now experiencing some difficulties due to the lower production volumes in France. In the United States, farmers for the past several years are incurring huge losses due to crop failures.
