Draft proposal end boycott?

Russian companies are more frequently switching to the Chinese yuan in trade. Due to the sanctions, the dollar is less popular. Russian import turned out lower on average in the first months of the year, including from countries that aren't boycotted. Moldova resumes the export to Russia, and despite the boycott, Moldovan apple growers were able to end the season on a relative high note. The Russian inspection will visit Macedonia in the autumn to inspect companies. Previously, the boycott against the country was already lifted. Armenia is getting more favourable trade conditions by becoming a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, and a list is reportedly being drafted with products that are no longer boycotted by Russia.

Various Russian companies, including power companies and state banks, are switching to using the yuan instead of the dollar. Worldwide, the dollar is used as 'reserve currency', but due to the sanctions, Russia started looking for a currency to replace it. Gazprom says it's doing more business in the yuan, and the Sberbank bank is also promoting the currency. The Minister of Finance hinted he considered to enter into debts in the yuan instead of the dollar. In order to soften the blow of the sanctions, Russian companies are opting for more trade in local currencies. Introducing a new currency in the global trade takes a lot of time, with several decades expected to pass before the yuan will be seeing as much use as the Euro. Competition with the dollar is out of the question for now.

Russia on free trade zone Ukraine-EU
The Russian government confirmed to media that there is a new proposal on the free trade zone Ukraine and the EU want to establish. The document contains the Russian position in the debate. The proposal document is on the negotiation table. As far as it is known, the EU hasn't accepted it, but not rejected it either.

The imported volume of food in Russia has gone down, also from countries that aren't boycotted, RBC News reports. According to statistics from the Centre of International Trade (CIT), the import decreased from 7 billion dollars to 3.2 billion dollars between January and April of this year. This decrease applies to all trade partners. In addition to decreases in product groups like meat and dairy, import of fruit and vegetables from Jordan went down by 83.7%. According to the analysts, the cause is the weaker rouble, with a second possible cause being the decreasing demand for imported products in Russia. Incidentally, there are also countries that actually saw their export increase. In the various sectors, Turkey, Pakistan and Colombia have risen to the top of most important trade partners.

According to Russian media, including Interfax, a proposal is being drafted with products that could be removed from the sanction list. The criteria applied here, are that the country isn't self-sufficient in these products. Although a lot is still unknown about the resolution, the reports say the main focus is on fish and seafood.

Late last week, Moldova resumed the export of fruit to Russia, the National Agency for Food Safety (ANSA) reports. The export could be resumed after inspections by Russia and pledges by the ANSA. At the moment, a dozen companies have permission to export. There are talks to increase this number. Products that can be exported again are: apples, pears, fresh quince, apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines and plums.

Although the apple sector in Moldova was hit hard by the Russian boycott, the sector succeeded in finding new markets. The Russian market accounted for about 80% of the apple export. Moldova was able to partially absorb this loss through export to new markets, including Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Romania. In addition, the season ended a month earlier than normal, and the last apples sold for twice as much as last year.

Although Ukraine exports a lot of apples, mainly to the east, the country imports about twice as much. Between January and November 2014, according to official figures, the country imported 4.4 million tonnes of apples, at a value of 23.8 million dollars. In the same period, the country exported 1.9 million tonnes of apples, with a value of 5.2 million dollars. Most important trade partner was Poland, with a share of 84.3%. The biggest market was Russia, accounting for 97.4% of the export. After the boycott, the export to Russia ground to a halt, and the export to other destinations increased sharply. For instance, according to official data, Sri Lanka has become an important market.

Russian company Megameyd Holding says it's investing in a greenhouse centre near St Petersburg. The centre is to be 12 hectares big, and will be constructed near the village of Bolshaya Pustomerzha. According to expectations, 5,000 tonnes of different tomato varieties are to be grown there. The investment made is 2 billion roubles (32 million Euro). The investors see a lot of potential in the domestic Russian market, now that the boycott has created more room for these products, and demand for European import has gone down.

After recently becoming a member of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), the country has several favourable rules surrounding cultivation and export of agricultural products. This season, the country is expecting a good grape and apricot harvest. According to official figures, the country exports 300 to 500 tonnes of fruit and vegetables to various markets each day.

The Russian phytosanitary service announced that at the end of the summer or in autumn, the service will visit Macedonia to inspect companies. The inspections are necessary to gain access to the Russian market. Earlier, Russia already announced they would lift the boycott of Macedonia.

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