One year after the introduction of the embargo on the import of agricultural and food products from the European Union and the United States to Russia, which meanwhile has been extended for another year and to new countries Montenegro and Albania, results are visible.
The only countries of the former Yugoslavia, with only a few countries in Europe in general, which can export to Russia are B&H, Serbia and Macedonia.
Instead of the expected benefits from a trade war between Russia and the EU, Serbia suffered the damage, and their trade with Russia has decreased by one-fifth, said the advisor for Agriculture in the Institute of Economics in Belgrade, Miladin Ševarlić.
As the possible reasons for that, Ševarlić mentioned fall of ruble RUB, jump of dollar USD, cheaper crude oil in the world and much lower demand for imported products in Russia. He said that the best chance for export to Russia have producers of fruits, vegetables, meat and milk.
On the other hand, according to its possibilities, B&H used the given opportunity. According to the Foreign Trade Chamber of B&H, for half of a year since start of the application of the embargo, our country has increase exports by more than 20 million BAM, while imports remained at the same level. Difference is in a few millions, but its value is still almost double of the value of exports.
In 2013, when there was no embargo introduced yet, B&H exported products worth 57.2 million BAM to Russia.
The embargo was introduced in the middle of 2014 and the value of exports increased to 79 million BAM in that year, while the value of exports for the first six months of 2015 reached 37 million BAM, and if it continues to grow, at the end of the year will probably exceed last year’s exports. This year, fruit represents hit for the Russian market. Export of fruits in the first half of 2015 was 2 times higher than in the whole year 2014.
(Source: akta.ba)
