MOSCOW - Reciprocal sanctions have cost Russia and the UK approximately $10 billion in lost trade, Konstantin Shlykov, press secretary of the Russian Embassy to London, said.
“Regarding the overall volume of trade, it dropped by almost 50 percent last year, compared to 2014, and the missed profit neared $10 billion, according to our estimates,” Shlykov said in response to a question from the Russian and British media, published on the website of the Russian Embassy in London on May 25.
“Russia’s imports of British agricultural products have stopped. In the opinion of specialists from the British cheese manufacturer Wyke Farms, the restrictions imposed by Russia in 2014 will lead to losses and a consequent decrease in production of these goods in the next five to ten years,” he said.
The volume of annual exports of British commodities (including alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages) to Russia was about 115 million pounds in 2013, Shlykov said.
The press secretary referred to the British publication Farmers Weekly, saying that about 30 percent of EU dairy products was annually exported to Russia until 2014.
“The restrictions harmed most the fisheries industry of Scotland, as approximately 20 percent of all mackerel caught in that part of the country was supplied to the Russian market. For Northern Ireland, Russia was deemed to be a key and most promising market for local cheese products in 2012-2013. Agricultural exports from Northern Ireland to Russia stood at about 3 million pounds in 2013,” Shlykov said.
On August 7, 2014, President Vladimir Putin signed an order ‘On Special Economic Measures to Protect the Russian Federation’s Security’. The order prohibited or restricted for the period of one year Russia’s imports of agricultural products, raw materials and food from countries that had joined the sanctions against Russia.
The list included milk and dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, fruit, vegetables, nuts and sausages. Russia imposed a one-year ban on imports from EU countries, the United States, Canada, Australia and Norway.
