What was it about 3,4yrs ago the US and EU imposed sanctions on Russia. That was kind of like us "smart countries" putting a tariff on ourselves, so Russia didn`t have to, well after the dust settled, and by those reporting, Russia agriculture is booming and the selves are full, meanwhile US and EU farmers are struggling. Those sanctions forced Russia to get off it`s dead center, not just race to the bottom in buying from the world`s cheapest supplier.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hee-CPpZhwc
https://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2016/0202/Could-sanctions-spur-Russia-s-ascent-to-agricultura...
MOSALSK, Russia — The very first thing Alexander Sayapin has to say to a Western journalist who's made a long trek out to his start-up dairy some 150 miles from Moscow? "Thank you for the sanctions."
The sanctions Mr. Sayapin is referring to, a near-complete ban on food products imported from the European Union, were actually imposed by the Kremlin. They came in retaliation for Western sanctions leveled against Russia almost two years ago over its role in Ukraine's crisis. But never mind.
His point is that the sudden disappearance of cheap EU dairy goods from the Russian market created an opportunity. With financing from a major Moscow-based supermarket chain, Azbuka V'Kusa, he built in this deeply rural region a small dairy that now processes local milk into a variety of products, and sells as much as it can make under the supermarket's in-house brand name and his own "Farmer Sayapin" label.
Small farmers like Sayapin, long ignored by Russian customers and investors alike, are breathing new life into Russia's agricultural markets, allowing the country to feed itself without imports – and even to become an exporter itself.
"We've tripled our production in the past year, and we've carved out a place in the market," he says. "Even if they lift the sanctions tomorrow, we're already here. We've learned a lot, reduced our costs, and we're ready to compete."
