The world dairy market has adjusted to the Russian ban on imports of food products from the EU, says Ornua Economist Mark Flaherty.
Late last summer Russian authorities decided to ban imports of EU food products and in recent weeks to took the decison to futher exend the ban into 2015.
Flaherty says for Ireland it’s not so much the direct impact of the ban which has been an issue but the overall impact on global dairy markets.
“When the Russian market shut off European imports. It wasn’t replaced that with anything else. It was demand that was lost to the world market.
“That has differently had an impact because its was an important market and its gone.”
However, he said last month European export statistics showed that cheese exports came within 5,000t of where they were before the Russian ban.
“The gap has been closed very significantly.
“The international market is growing in other parts of the world and gradually making up for the absence of Russia.
“The world market is actually adjusting to Russia market,” he said.
However, he also said that the situation is obviously not ideal and it would be preferable if the Russian market was still open.
“But the fact that it is gone it will take time to adjust to it.
“But that is happening,” he said.
