(ಠ_ಠ)РаОÑа
2014-08-08 00:53:51 UTC
CBC News Posted: Aug 07, 2014
Pork, poultry industries brace for impact of Russians sanctions
Oil technology could be next in tit for tat of sanctions war
The pork industry is one of the agricultural sectors that will “feel the
pinch” of a year-long ban on Canadian agricultural exports to Russia,
with as many as 1,000 containers of pork currently on the water en route
to Russia.
Russia imposed sanctions on Wednesday against meat, fish, milk and dairy
products, fruit and vegetables from Canada, the U.S., the European
Union, Australia and Norway.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the ban was a response to
escalating sanctions against Russia, which have already put limits on
currency exchange for its banks and technology exchanges.
As much as $50 million in frozen pork products may currently be in
transit to Russia, according to Jim Laws, executive director of the the
Canadian Meat Council.
Important market
Russia is the fourth most important market for Canadian pork, after the
U.S., Japan and China, and sold about $260 million of product there last
year, he said. That is down from about $358 million in 2012.
The industry has taken steps to work with the Russian meat industry,
adapting its offerings, which include boneless hams and frozen swine
products that cater to the Russian taste for sausage.
“This is an important market for Canada indeed. We’ve been a bit
worried about this for the past several weeks with tensions rising
between the two countries,” Laws told CBC News.
“We hope if consumers in Russia are affected in any way in terms of
short supply or rising prices, the Russian government will reconsider
its actions,” he said.
Quebec-based pork and poultry supplier Olymel, which calls Russia its
No. 2 market, said it is going to try to find other markets for the
products it usually sells to Russia.
Poultry, beef, seafood
“While it is powerless to change the decision by the Moscow regime,
Olymel will make every effort to find other outlets for products that
were destined for the Russian market in order to reduce the impact of
this decision. Olymel does not yet have full information concerning the
application of this measure, and is thus unable to assess the
consequences,” the company said in a statement.
Manitoba cattle producer Cheryl McPherson is bracing for the impact, on
top of a labeling dispute that has cut into sales to the U.S.
McPherson says Russia may not be Canada's biggest market, but any
restriction will hurt her bottom line.
“It feels like you're left out. . . nobody realizes you're out there
and it's affecting you,” she said.
Laws said the Canada Meat Council will work with the Russian and
Canadian governments to try to get the shipments of meat currently en
route to Russia diverted to other markets or returned to Canada.
Pork producers have been enjoying high prices as a virus that kills
young pigs has hurt pork production in the U.S., he said.
“The only good news for us right now is pork supplies around the world
are very tight and farmers have been enjoying record prices for the live
animals – if it had to happen, this was a time it was least
detrimental,” he said.
Seafood producers are also likely to be hurt
"For lobster, Russia is a small but potentially good market,” said Geoff
Irvine, head of the Lobster Council of Canada. “The biggest impact on
seafood in Canada will be on northern shrimp, and maybe cheaper fish
like Pacific hake and herring."
Clearwater Seafoods head Ian Smith says the Russian market only
accounts for three per cent of his company's annual revenue, so the
pain will be negligible.
“Clearwater has a very broad portfolio of products, a broad porfolio of
markets and customers we deal with. The Russian market is about our
frozen-at-sea coldwater shrimp and it's one of many markets we sell to.
... Do we want to be selling shrimp in Russia? Of course we do, and we
expect that market will come back in the future,” he said.
Oil technology could be next
But the bulk of Canada’s exports to Russia is in machinery and
mechanical appliances, aerospace and transport sectors, areas that have
not yet been hit by sanctions.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated yesterday that sanctions may be
extended to cover the oil technology sector.
That might be a good next step, said David Gordon, a former director of
policy planning with the U.S. State Department, now head of research at
the Eurasia Group.
“The U.S. in its sanctions began that already last week and the week
before. The EU has gone there on gas and oil, the U.S. going to go
there on gas as well. The technology is really advanced in North
America and so I think here is where the substantial role for Canada
is,” Gordon said in an interview with CBC’s The Lang & O’Leary Exchange.
He said he believes the restrictions on the banks and on high-tech
exchanges are already hurting Russia and the move to ban agricultural
exports may have more impact in Russia than they do in Canada.
“It’s probably going to create more pain within Russia than it does for
any of its counterparts,” he said, adding “I do think for Russian
middle-class consumers, they’re not going to be happy about this.”
Gordon believes Russia will not go as far as cutting off gas supplies to
Europe, though it has already signed a deal to sell to China.
“Russia is really going to need the revenues from gas,” he said and
won’t want to frighten Asian customers.
“Part of what the Asians are going to watch very carefully – Is Russia
going to politicize the export of energy? If the answer to that is yes,
that is going to make them a much less attractive partner,” he said.
Pork, poultry industries brace for impact of Russians sanctions
Oil technology could be next in tit for tat of sanctions war
The pork industry is one of the agricultural sectors that will “feel the
pinch” of a year-long ban on Canadian agricultural exports to Russia,
with as many as 1,000 containers of pork currently on the water en route
to Russia.
Russia imposed sanctions on Wednesday against meat, fish, milk and dairy
products, fruit and vegetables from Canada, the U.S., the European
Union, Australia and Norway.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said the ban was a response to
escalating sanctions against Russia, which have already put limits on
currency exchange for its banks and technology exchanges.
As much as $50 million in frozen pork products may currently be in
transit to Russia, according to Jim Laws, executive director of the the
Canadian Meat Council.
Important market
Russia is the fourth most important market for Canadian pork, after the
U.S., Japan and China, and sold about $260 million of product there last
year, he said. That is down from about $358 million in 2012.
The industry has taken steps to work with the Russian meat industry,
adapting its offerings, which include boneless hams and frozen swine
products that cater to the Russian taste for sausage.
“This is an important market for Canada indeed. We’ve been a bit
worried about this for the past several weeks with tensions rising
between the two countries,” Laws told CBC News.
“We hope if consumers in Russia are affected in any way in terms of
short supply or rising prices, the Russian government will reconsider
its actions,” he said.
Quebec-based pork and poultry supplier Olymel, which calls Russia its
No. 2 market, said it is going to try to find other markets for the
products it usually sells to Russia.
Poultry, beef, seafood
“While it is powerless to change the decision by the Moscow regime,
Olymel will make every effort to find other outlets for products that
were destined for the Russian market in order to reduce the impact of
this decision. Olymel does not yet have full information concerning the
application of this measure, and is thus unable to assess the
consequences,” the company said in a statement.
Manitoba cattle producer Cheryl McPherson is bracing for the impact, on
top of a labeling dispute that has cut into sales to the U.S.
McPherson says Russia may not be Canada's biggest market, but any
restriction will hurt her bottom line.
“It feels like you're left out. . . nobody realizes you're out there
and it's affecting you,” she said.
Laws said the Canada Meat Council will work with the Russian and
Canadian governments to try to get the shipments of meat currently en
route to Russia diverted to other markets or returned to Canada.
Pork producers have been enjoying high prices as a virus that kills
young pigs has hurt pork production in the U.S., he said.
“The only good news for us right now is pork supplies around the world
are very tight and farmers have been enjoying record prices for the live
animals – if it had to happen, this was a time it was least
detrimental,” he said.
Seafood producers are also likely to be hurt
"For lobster, Russia is a small but potentially good market,” said Geoff
Irvine, head of the Lobster Council of Canada. “The biggest impact on
seafood in Canada will be on northern shrimp, and maybe cheaper fish
like Pacific hake and herring."
Clearwater Seafoods head Ian Smith says the Russian market only
accounts for three per cent of his company's annual revenue, so the
pain will be negligible.
“Clearwater has a very broad portfolio of products, a broad porfolio of
markets and customers we deal with. The Russian market is about our
frozen-at-sea coldwater shrimp and it's one of many markets we sell to.
... Do we want to be selling shrimp in Russia? Of course we do, and we
expect that market will come back in the future,” he said.
Oil technology could be next
But the bulk of Canada’s exports to Russia is in machinery and
mechanical appliances, aerospace and transport sectors, areas that have
not yet been hit by sanctions.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper indicated yesterday that sanctions may be
extended to cover the oil technology sector.
That might be a good next step, said David Gordon, a former director of
policy planning with the U.S. State Department, now head of research at
the Eurasia Group.
“The U.S. in its sanctions began that already last week and the week
before. The EU has gone there on gas and oil, the U.S. going to go
there on gas as well. The technology is really advanced in North
America and so I think here is where the substantial role for Canada
is,” Gordon said in an interview with CBC’s The Lang & O’Leary Exchange.
He said he believes the restrictions on the banks and on high-tech
exchanges are already hurting Russia and the move to ban agricultural
exports may have more impact in Russia than they do in Canada.
“It’s probably going to create more pain within Russia than it does for
any of its counterparts,” he said, adding “I do think for Russian
middle-class consumers, they’re not going to be happy about this.”
Gordon believes Russia will not go as far as cutting off gas supplies to
Europe, though it has already signed a deal to sell to China.
“Russia is really going to need the revenues from gas,” he said and
won’t want to frighten Asian customers.
“Part of what the Asians are going to watch very carefully – Is Russia
going to politicize the export of energy? If the answer to that is yes,
that is going to make them a much less attractive partner,” he said.