Some Slovak companies are already being hit by Russia's ban on food products which came into effect on August 7th, the Hospodárske Noviny daily reports. Based on official information, the measure should concern nine food producers from Slovakia such as producer of dairy products Rajo, and meat producers Tauris and Mecom along with some smaller companies.
According to Slovak Dairy Association chief Jan Johanes, another four milk producers from Slovakia which are affected by the ban will need to cut down on their production volumes. On the other hand, Slovak consumers might benefit from an increase in competition among food producers, as a range of products that would otherwise be headed for Russia will stay in the EU instead. The Slovak government has prepared several measures in response to Russia’s embargo on foodstuffs. “We do not expect that exports will be the main problem. It does not represent such a high value, being at some 31 to 32 million euro per year. It can be applied also on the local market due to the fact that we have only 46 percent food self-sufficiency”, stated Agriculture Minister Ľubomír Jahnátek on Friday. However, the government has prepared several measures in response to Russia’s embargo on foodstuffs. As of Monday, the Minister has set up a monitoring committee which will audit the situation on the market, monitoring increased imports and shifts in prices of food products. Minister Jahnátek also asked consumers to give preference to Slovak products when purchasing.
In reaction to the Russian embargo on food products, the European Commission has drawn a plan of lowering the impact of these on the EU market. “If some European producers will not be able to find alternative markets, the EU has at its disposal the subsidy program of the Common Agricultural policy of the EU”, stated the EU Agriculture and Rural Development Commissioner Dacian Ciolos. He added that a number of new and modernised measures are in place, designed to help at times of crisis. Prime Minister Robert Fico is not content with the sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia, claiming that it is necessary now to protect interests of the Slovak Republic with respect to senseless EU sanctions against Russia that endanger the Slovak economy. Former Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan from the SDKU party reminds that Slovakia was part of those EU discussions about sanctions against Russia and in the end approved them as well.
