MOSCOW, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - The Netherlands’ economy will lose at least 300 million euros ($400 million) due to the Russian food embargo, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing statistics bureau Statistics Netherlands.
The total value of food exports to Russia amounted to 500 million euros in 2013, generating 300 million euros for Dutch businesses, with 200 million euros going to service providers in the neighboring countries.
As the Netherlands is recovering from the recession, the country’s GDP growth is predicted to slow down by 0.25-0.50 percentage points in light of the potential losses.
According to the statistics office, 2 percent of Dutch exports go to Russia, a sector that is linked to about 5,000 jobs.
Russia has banned food imports from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia and Norway in response to sanctions imposed on Russia over its alleged role in escalating the Ukrainian crisis.
The European Union recently allocated 125 million euros to a number of European food producers affected by the Russian food embargo. The subsidies are expected to last until late November.
