MOSCOW, August 22 (RIA Novosti) - The food import ban Russia implemented on a range of foodstuffs from Western countries is unlikely to hurt big Russian food retailers, a Standard & Poor’s ratings agency’s press release said Friday.
According to the ratings agency, the food ban should not affect Russian retailers such as Lenta, Magnit and X5 Retail Group.
Standard & Poor’s expects the prices of imported and Russian products to rise, but believes that, because of their size and greater bargaining power, Lenta, Magnit and X5 should be able to negotiate a moderate price increase with their suppliers, unlike smaller local rivals.
On August 7, Russia imposed a ban on food imports from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway in response to the Western sanctions. The ban targets meat, seafood, dairy products, fruit and vegetables and other foods.
The West has been implementing sanctions against Russia over its alleged role in the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis mainly targeting the energy and banking sectors. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations and called for peaceful resolution to the conflict, and sent a humanitarian convoy to the war-torn regions.
