As the EU approves a €125 million financial package to compensate producers affected by the Russian embargo, Portugal’s Ministry of Agriculture has said €500.000 is instantly available to growers affected by the trade ban.
Agriculture minister Assunção Cristas said the figure may well be revised upwards, but warned that Russia’s blockade on European products could cost Portugal as much as 15 million euros.
This is not quite as bad as it sounds. The full total of Portuguese exports per year is €50 million.
The reason why Russia’s embargo hasn’t wiped the board clean is that certain products – wine and olive oil, for example – are exempt.
Another ‘positive’ bit of news is that food that will not now be exported to Russia will be distributed among Portugal’s needy.
Jornal de Negocios online writes that growers will be compensated by EU money and then the food purchased will be passed on to the Banco Alimentar.
But, long-term, no one really knows what the effects could be – particularly as news in the global media today is that the EU could be considering a fresh round of sanctions as Russian violations in Ukrainia, despite the ceasefire, continue to be reported.
Cristas said yesterday (Friday) that European ‘damages’ could climb with indirect effects in any number of sectors.
“Even Portuguese companies that do not directly export to Russia could see their markets saturated with products from producers who used to export to Russia and who are now trying to sell them here”, explains JN.
The pork meat sector is one which Cristas agreed could “suffer from saturation” of the European market.
“The discussion between ministers centred on how to make use of existing mechanisms and showing the EC that all sectors need to be watched closely”, Cristas said after the meeting. This way “if any suffer negative impacts, they can be supported.”
