Putin bans agricultural imports from sanctioning countries for 1 year

[dead0man]

link-Kremlin

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Import ban on foodstuffs, AND price controls....the Russian people are going to be ecstatic!

[Middle-aged Europe]

If he were actually serious, he would have ordered a gas boycott on Europe.

Banning apples and liquor is more of a symbolic measure.

[CherryPanda]

If he were actually serious, he would have ordered a gas boycott on Europe.

Banning apples and liquor is more of a symbolic measure.

Well, I studied the aspect a little bit, and, in fact, it's sort of more serious that just apples and liquor.
For example, the share of European products in Russian import is 42%, Russia is the second biggest consumer after the USA. The European producers will lose around 12 billion euros. And they would really like to get the compensation from the EU, but Brussels doesn't have 12 billion a year (that the duration of the sanctions period) to cover the losses. The Polish have already asked for compensation and were denied.
And Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb says that there is a great possibility that the situation might become the economical crisis 2.0.

[Simfan34]

This seems a case of chopping off the nose to spite the face. What percentage of total food consumption do imports account for?

[dead0man]

This seems a case of chopping off the nose to spite the face. What percentage of total food consumption do imports account for?

I've heard numbers from 10% up to 60%....for some reason even Russia doesn't know as their "guess" was "oh somewhere between 10 adn 40%".  link-Pravda

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[Simfan34]

So even Pravda admits they're looking at least a 20% reduction in food supplies, and they could be looking at up to a third- don't forget to include the US (which was something like $1.5 billion worth) and others.

I could get used to this.

EDIT: So they've also banned imports from Ukraine, which accounts for something like $2 billion on top of the $16 billion of imports from the EU... you go ahead with that, Putin.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

About the same world effect as me not drinking Stoly for a year and sticking to Grey Goose.  Nothing to see here, unless you're perhaps a Russian citizen.

[dead0man]

Yeah, it would be great if this backfired in Putin's stupid face.  If his oligarchy buddies start having a hard time getting their fancy wines and such...ok, probably his oligarchy buddies won't have any trouble getting their luxury foods, but I bet the next tier down will.  I wonder how much power that second tier has....

[ingemann]

If he were actually serious, he would have ordered a gas boycott on Europe.

Only if he wanted a complete collapse of the Russian economy.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Putin may have overplayed his hand at long last.

[Simfan34]

Yes, apparently Russia has joined the number of nations sanctioning Russia...

[ingemann]

Putin may have overplayed his hand at long last.

Maybe, we can tell in a few month when food price rise in Russia. Of course he may subsidised, which would keep the people behind him.

[swl]

These sanctions are a dumb move from Russia and from Europe as well. :/

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Russians are used to not having material things that they want. It may not be as stupid a move as it looks.

[Simfan34]

Any idea how this is likely to affect most Russians, say, six months down the road? Does it create a situation where Russia builds domestic support for an invasion of the Ukraine by appealing to their need for a reliable supply of affordable food?

That would be perverse.

[ag]

You are talking about a country where Starbucks is likely to give you the cheapest cup of coffee around. It is not the most affordable place to begin with.

For the moment reliable supply of "affordable" (in the current Russian sense of the word) food is not threatened. It is choice that will suffer. And, in any case, given the volume of illegal imports, I suspect that the smugglers will take care of even that not being much of a problem: for a price, of course. They will not have any trouble: most smuggling is done by the security services. Now, if the West tries to hit THAT - that would be a real casus belli.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

Any idea how this is likely to affect most Russians, say, six months down the road? Does it create a situation where Russia builds domestic support for an invasion of the Ukraine by appealing to their need for a reliable supply of affordable food?

That would be perverse.

As perverse and wrong as that would be, it has worked in the past. Fidel Castro being the best example.

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

I think a LOT depends on how it's spun by RT etc. It would take serious, serious tension to get to the point of risking internal stability. I can see the message as being "they've undertaken these actions and comments against us, so we cannot be in the position of enriching them" etc etc...

[PiMp DaDdy FitzGerald]

Putin may use this as an excuse, after he invades Ukraine due to Libertarian foolishness and pacificism in the west, to start a second Holodomor and destroy Ukraine as a country for good.

[ag]

I think a LOT depends on how it's spun by RT etc. It would take serious, serious tension to get to the point of risking internal stability. I can see the message as being "they've undertaken these actions and comments against us, so we cannot be in the position of enriching them" etc etc...

RT is something created purely for foreign consumption. It is not something an average Russian ever sees. The Russian channels are a lot worse.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Meanwhile... ExxonMobil starts oil drilling in the Russian Arctic, Putin praises the project:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/09/exxonmobil-russia-arctic_n_5664201.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000044


At the end of the day, most of the sanctions are for show. The reality is that Russia sells oil to America so that it can continue to buy warships from France, to put it simply. Nobody will do anything that seriously hurts the other side.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

I think a LOT depends on how it's spun by RT etc. It would take serious, serious tension to get to the point of risking internal stability. I can see the message as being "they've undertaken these actions and comments against us, so we cannot be in the position of enriching them" etc etc...

RT is something created purely for foreign consumption. It is not something an average Russian ever sees. The Russian channels are a lot worse.

I must say this puts the awfulness of Russian Television in proper perspective.

[ag]

One interesting thing to observe is that, while the Western sources claim that Russia imports arnd. 11 or 12 bln euro worth of food from Europe, Russian stats show only 9 or 10 bln. This tallies really well with the claim (which was made to me by some well-placed people during my recent trip to Russia) that, roughly 20% of imports into Russia are off books. Apparently, a lot of this illegal trade (at least, as far as financial flows are concerned) is controlled by people in Russian security services. It will be interesting to see what happens to that illegal flow. I am pretty damn sure it will grow - to the benefit and glory of the  officers involved.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

One interesting thing to observe is that, while the Western sources claim that Russia imports arnd. 11 or 12 bln euro worth of food from Europe, Russian stats show only 9 or 10 bln. This tallies really well with the claim (which was made to me by some well-placed people during my recent trip to Russia) that, roughly 20% of imports into Russia are off books. Apparently, a lot of this illegal trade (at least, as far as financial flows are concerned) is controlled by people in Russian security services. It will be interesting to see what happens to that illegal flow. I am pretty damn sure it will grow - to the benefit and glory of the  officers involved.

As someone more in the 'know' than the rest of us, may I ask is that an intended purpose behind the sanctions or a side-benefit?

[ag]

One interesting thing to observe is that, while the Western sources claim that Russia imports arnd. 11 or 12 bln euro worth of food from Europe, Russian stats show only 9 or 10 bln. This tallies really well with the claim (which was made to me by some well-placed people during my recent trip to Russia) that, roughly 20% of imports into Russia are off books. Apparently, a lot of this illegal trade (at least, as far as financial flows are concerned) is controlled by people in Russian security services. It will be interesting to see what happens to that illegal flow. I am pretty damn sure it will grow - to the benefit and glory of the  officers involved.

As someone more in the 'know' than the rest of us, may I ask is that an intended purpose behind the sanctions or a side-benefit?

Both