Panic Grows In Russia Due To New Sanctions

Fruit imports to Russia have practically stopped.

The new US sanctions, according to EastFruit. experts, led to a temporary paralysis of foreign trade in fruits and vegetables and an increase in prices for them in the Russian Federation.

“The sanctions that the United States imposed against the Moscow Exchange, as well as its members the National Clearing Center (NCC) and the National Settlement Depository (NSD), led to panic in the foreign exchange market of the aggressor country. The exchange was forced to suspend trading in dollars and euros, as well as instruments with settlements in these currencies,” stated in the message.

This means that the main instrument for setting the exchange rate in the country was lost, and the foreign trade operations of the Russian Federation, carried out in the main reserve currencies, became much more complicated. Moreover, according to economists and financial market experts, each transaction in dollars or euros will be much more expensive for counterparties from Russia.

It is noted that Russia is one of the world’s largest importers of fruits and vegetables, even though it is the largest country in the world in terms of land area. Every year this country spends about $5 billion US dollars on importing fruits and about $1.5 billion on importing vegetables and potatoes.

According to the analysts, among the main suppliers of fruits and vegetables to Russia are Türkiye, Ecuador, and Egypt. Currently, exporters are in no hurry to conclude new contracts, not understanding how payments for the supplied products will take place.

The experts note, the specificity of fruits and vegetables is such that they cannot be stored, so they need to be sold urgently. For countries that supply a significant volume of products to the Russian market, it is difficult to quickly find a replacement for this huge buyer.

“At the same time, importers are already factoring new currency risks and guaranteed higher transaction costs into the prices of fruits and vegetables on the market. Literally in just one day, prices for most items of vegetables and fruits have increased noticeably – after all, currently the Russian market sells mainly imported products. Accordingly, Russian consumers need to be prepared to pay more for imported vegetables and fruits,” the experts add.