Russia’s Import Ban on Ukrainian Foods : Magnitude and Implications

The Russian government will impose a ban from 1 January 2016 on the import of foods from Ukraine. None of the two countries however will be affected substantially by the ban:• Ukrainian imports in Russia play an insignificant part in terms of both total volume and as per each article of foods import (1.2%);• Ukraine saw its share of Russia's foods import structure (which as early as in 2012 was more than 5%) begin to shrink even prior to what happened in 2014. Russia's Rosselkhoznadzor (Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) and Rospotrebnadzor (Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing) were largely responsible for creating the foregoing situation by complaining heavily about Ukrainian products, thereby making Russia-Ukraine trade relations become nontransparent and unpredictable;• Ukraine managed in large part to refocus to other markets after its Russian market share shrank