Oleksiy Pavlenko / Photo from UNIAN
The embargo on imports of Ukrainian food to the Russian Federation, which may be imposed from January 1, 2016, following the introduction of the Ukraine-EU DCFTA, will not affect the Ukrainian agro-industrial complex, Ukrainian Agrarian Minister Oleksiy Pavlenko said, according to the ministry's press service.
"The embargo on imports of Ukrainian agricultural products will not affect the development of the Ukrainian agricultural sector," the press service quoted Pavlenko as saying.
According to the minister, domestic producers are looking for new foreign partners to replace Russian buyers due to Moscow’s deliberate policy of exerting pressure on Ukrainian exporters by imposing unilateral bans on imports of certain Ukrainian goods.
The minister stressed that market diversification measures have yielded some notable results, significantly changing the structure of exports of Ukrainian agricultural products. Asian countries remain Ukraine’s key markets, accounting for about 47% of Ukrainian exports. The export share to the EU countries amounts to 26%, that to African countries is 14%, and to the CIS countries - 11%.
Read alsoState Grain and Food Corporation emphasizes Ukraine's significant role in world grain market"Russia is not even in the top ten importers of agricultural products. Trade turnover between Ukraine and Russia has decreased by more than 70% in 2015 alone," Pavlenko said.
According to the Ukrainian Agrarian Ministry, Ukraine-Russia trade turnover amounted to $405 million in nine months of 2015, while exports from Ukraine declined by 75% to $222 million, while imports to Ukraine dropped 64% to $183 million. Main export products were meat, by-products, cocoa paste, wine, coffee/tea extracts and concentrates, salt, processed fruit and vegetables.
As UNIAN reported earlier, according to Prime Minister of Ukraine Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine's loss due to introduction of the food embargo by Russia will amount to $600 million in 2016.
Ukraine has limited trade relations with Russia in connection with the Russian aggression in Donbas and the Crimean annexation. In particular, the share of the Russian market in Ukrainian exports of agricultural products amounted to 2% in the first half of 2015 against 8% in the same period last year.
Earlier, Russian Minister of Economic Development Alexey Ulyukayev said that the Russian government decided to impose food embargo against Ukraine to be effective as of January 1.
Ukraine said it would respond with retaliatory measures, stressing that the EU and Ukraine would not postpone the introduction of DCFTA, which will take effect from January 1, 2016, nor would it amend the text of the Association Agreement with the EU.