Russia: Crisis Forces Food Reduction

Russian economy begun to actively respond to the needs and demands of the local population by drastically slashing the amount of food and agricultural imports to the country. That does not bode well for the Russian people nor for the import-export sector which rose in trade volume over the last few years. Before the advent of the crisis in 2008, many staple food products were imported, since the vast agricultural potential of the Russian Federation that has not been realized following the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

In February 2009, Russia reduced food imports to 21.8% compared to February 2008, as reported by the Federal Customs Service: "Thanks to the devaluation of the ruble, foreign goods went up in price by more than a third, so domestic importers can not buy in the previous volumes. Additionally, local demand leaves much to be desired due to the crisis."

According to the official data, Russia imported less than half the alcohol as compared with last year - a first-of-a-kind reduction in the last 8 years. Import of fish and sea products fell by a third, import of milk products fell by almost 37%, while most felt are going to be reduction of meat and beef products by an estimated 11%. Russian domestic producers cannot yet satisfy the domestic demand with locally grown meat products, and general population still relies on foreign exporters.