Russia threatens embargo on Ukrainian food starting Jan. 1

Russia threatened to impose an embargo on imports of Ukrainian food starting Jan. 1, 2016 in case there is no addendum to the Free Trade Area (FTA) between the EU and Ukraine, said on Aug. 24 Russian Economy Minister Aleksei Uliukayev, according to the Interfax news agency. 

“There should be a trilateral legally binding agreement either as an addendum to the free trade agreement between Ukraine and the EU, or a separate document that describes the legally binding alleviation of our risks related to technical regulations, veterinary and phytosanitary control, and customs regulations due to the danger of commodity inflow from third countries through Ukraine,” stated Uliukayev.

Alexander Paraschiy:  This statement is nothing more than the latest political pressure from Russia, which has been discriminating against Ukrainian food for many years.  Limiting imports of dairy and meat products were the most frequently used instruments (after natural gas) of political pressure. This request “to alleviate the risks” of the FTA is yet another attempt to intervene in relations between the EU and Ukraine. Demanding such regulations to be included in a legally binding addendum to the FTA is a cynical speculation, without any economic reasoning behind it, we beleive.

This threat is not particularly scary for Ukraine. In 1H15, food exports to Russia were USD 126.4 mln, which is 5.5% of total Ukranian exports to the country and only 0.7% of total exports of goods. These numbers show that a potential embargo will not damage the economy much, though it will be quite unpleasant for some Ukrainian producers.