Putin announced a ban on food imports from the E.U. and other Western countries last year in retaliation for Western economic sanctions on Russian. Under the sanction, meat, vegetables, fruit and dairy products are banned.
Out of all of the industries, one of the hardest hit has been the cheese industry. The numbers show the E.U. lost about $950 million in the value of cheese exports to Russia. Overall, the E.U. has been able to mitigate this loss in exports somewhat to $550 million by increasing its sales in other markets.
In Denmark, where dairy products make up 40% of all Danish agricultural exports to Russia, cheese is the most important among the dairy products. Individual farmers sell their milk to dairy cooperatives where the cheese is then produced. The cooperatives then sell the products. While farmers can sell all of their product, they are still earning less money as dairy prices have fallen by 30%, according to Henning Hansen, a senior advisor in the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Food and Resource Economics.
The result: many Danish dairy farmers are in debt and struggling to make ends meet. Others have declared bankruptcy. Some farmer’s organizations have even started offering «social help,» where if «they are depressed, they can call and ask for help,» Hansen said. It has also prompted some soul searching among the farmers. «The farmer’s organizations tell them, now you must really think, do you want to be a farmer?»
Estonia, Lithuania and Lativa are also among the countries who are suffering the most, according to the European Commission’s Directorate General for Agriculture.
On the other side of the ban; consumers are also suffering, though perhaps to a lesser extent.
After all, those in Russia who are affected tend to be more well-off, Fiona Clark, a journalist who has lived in Russia for eight years, said.
Clark, who is missing her Parmesan and goat cheese, said she now regularly buys six to ten packages of cheese when she travels outside the country. As a result, she always gets stopped at customs upon re-entrance and her «suitcase is instantly taken off to the inspector.»
European cheeses are allowed for personal consumption though, and the guards are usually very understanding after it’s been explained, Clark added.
Not everyone has been affected equally by the economic sanctions. Across all of Europe’s agricultural trade industries, the cheese industry has been the hardest hit. Others, such as the meat industry, have been able to increase their business in Asia or other markets to compensate for the loss.
In Russia, the ban has boosted Russia’s domestic cheese industry by some 30%, according toThe Moscow Times. Yet, many say the quality of these products is not up to par. In fact, some of the cheeses being produced to fill the gap are «fake» — produced with palm oil, a cheaper product, The Moscow Times reported.
Further, others say that banned E.U. imports are still coming through to Russia, just with a Belarusian label attached.
The numbers suggest this may be a possibility. As E.U. cheese exports to Russia fell, Belarus’ exports to Russia rose. In July 2014, Belarus exported 12,000 tons of cheese to Russia. A month later, it rose by 150% to 18,000 tons. In the months that followed Belarus consistently exported more cheese per month that it had in the same month previously.
It is not all fake cheese that’s being used to fill the gap. Russian journalist Natalia Zotova said she has been able to find Argentinian versions of some of the European cheeses she used to buy. She also buys traditionally Russian cheeses.
Though the ban on foreign cheeses seems to be more of a problem for the wealthy, the food bans’ impact has hurt the poorer populations in Russia.
Some Russians and other web users have strongly criticized the Russian government for ordering the destruction of the food imports, given the amount of Russians who live in poverty and the country’s history of famines.
In addition, the ban has contributed to an increase in the cost of groceries overall, said William Pomeranz, deputy director of the Wilson Center’s Kennan institute. The effects of the ban have been compounded by the rouble’s weak performance and inflation, he said.
Russians now have to pay a higher amount of their total income for groceries because of an increase in food prices, he said.
«The only upside is that is my cholesterol level [has] come down,» Clark joked.
Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that the Danish dairy cooperatives make cheese with milk they buy from individual framers. It originally stated that the farmers made the cheese themselves and then sold it to a dairy cooperative. A small percentage of farmers make their own cheese.
Source: Mashable