UK firms hurt by Russian embargo on food imports

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position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"><a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/business-28714869#" style="background-color: gainsboro; background-image: url(http://static.bbci.co.uk/modules/sharetools/v1/img/sprite-0.3.2.png); background-position: -17px -167px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: inherit; display: block; float: left; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; font-weight: normal; height: 16px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 8px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; text-indent: -9999px; width: 16px;" title="Share this page on Twitter">T<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 1em; text-indent: 0px;">Sinclair Banks of Lunar Fishing explains the impact Russia's ban will have on his business</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="story-feature related narrow" style="clear: right; color: #505050; display: inline; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; 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margin: 0px 0px 16px; padding: 8px 0px 0px;"> <li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"><a class="story" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-28712897" rel="published-1407513248858" style="color: #4a7194; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">Firm loses order amid Russia embargo</a></li> <li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"><a class="story" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-28687172" rel="published-1407400539644" style="color: #4a7194; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">Russia bans food imports from West</a></li> <li style="background-image: none; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1em; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 8px; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-rendering: auto;"><a class="story" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-28692012" rel="published-1407432207311" style="color: #4a7194; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">Russian food ban could hit exporters</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="introduction" id="story_continues_1" style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> UK firms have been hit by a Russian ban on food imports from a number of Western countries.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The tit-for-tat ban, imposed on Thursday, bars imports from countries which have imposed sanctions on Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "It will have a big impact on business," said Sinclair Banks, boss of fishing and fish processing firm Lunar.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> The firm, based in Peterhead in north-east Scotland, makes half of its £60m annual turnover from exports to Russia.</div> <div class="caption full-width" style="clear: both; color: #505050; display: block; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; position: relative;"> <img alt="Mackerel" height="351" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76797000/jpg/_76797156_87811583.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 16px; position: relative;" width="624" /><span style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; width: 624px;">Russia is the biggest market by volume for Scottish mackerel and herring</span></div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "We've £200,000 of herring sitting at St Petersburg, we don't know if it will go through or even if it will be paid for," said Mr Banks.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> He added that Lunar had already cancelled a boat exporting herring because of the sanctions.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Some 320 miles south, Shropshire cheese-maker Belton Cheese is also suffering.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Justin Beckett, managing director of the family business, said it had already had to cancel a £30,000 cheese order due to be sent to Russia on Monday.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "As you can imagine it's very disappointing. Russia was a very new market, about 2-3% of our business, but we had an expansion plan for the next two to three years."</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Mr Beckett said this expansion had been expected to bring in up to £2m over the next three years.</div> <div class="caption full-width" style="clear: both; color: #505050; display: block; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; position: relative;"> <img alt="Cheese order" height="351" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/76823000/jpg/_76823550_76823549.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 16px; position: relative;" width="624" /><span style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; width: 624px;">Belton Cheese said it had expected the Russian market to be worth up to £2m over the next three years</span></div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Larger firms, such as B&Q owner Kingfisher, have also warned they could be affected.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Kingfisher chief executive Sir Ian Cheshire told BBC Radio 5 live it was "sensitive" towards any potential disruption.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "We're clearly concerned that if it went further it would impact us and we're just having to wait and see and also try and switch where we can to more domestic sources [for products]. But the market longer-term for us there is still a solid one," he added.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Waitrose managing director Mark Price told 5 live that Western goods due to be exported to Russia might now look to be sold in the UK.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "Europe's a huge market and Britain's just one part of it. But if they do find their way to the UK then that could well put some downward pressure on prices," he said.</div> <div class="caption full-width" style="clear: both; color: #505050; display: block; float: none; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; position: relative;"> <img alt="M&S store" height="351" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/74969000/jpg/_74969228_p6y8l07g.jpg" style="-webkit-user-select: none; border: 0px; color: #505050; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 16px; position: relative;" width="624" /><span style="color: #505050; display: block; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; line-height: 16px; width: 624px;">M&S has 41 stores in Russia</span></div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Henderson Global Investors analyst Matthew Beesley said other British High Street firms, including Marks and Spencer and WH Smith, could also be affected.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "Marks and Spencer has about 4% of its operating profit currently sourced from Russia - they've got 41 stores there. WH Smith has just won a contract to sell newspapers in the railway stations across the country," he added.</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> Despite the negative impact of the ban on British firms, for consumers it may be positive,</div> <div style="clear: left; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 1.077em; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 18px; padding: 0px; text-rendering: auto;"> "The banning of these exports does not mean the goods will not be sold or consumed elsewhere. Households are likely to benefit from the fall in food prices, helping free up income for other spending," Schroders economists Azad Zangana and Craig Botham wrote in an analyst note.</div> </div> </div>

UK firms hurt by Russian embargo on food imports

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