Foreign countries do not refuse such a Crimean spring either.
Factors and risks
The economic and military-political pressure of the collective West on the Russian Crimea and on Russia as a whole does not lead to the desired results for the instigators of this campaign. Moreover, trade relations with Crimea are supported by a number of countries, both Western and Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand.
The main factors of demand abroad for various products from the Crimea are the same: high quality and flexible pricing policy of Crimean exporting enterprises. These factors turn out to be more significant for the Crimean partners than the risks of falling under sanctions.
Plus, export deliveries from Crimea are by no means to the detriment of the actual Crimean needs for goods sent for export. According to expert estimates and preliminary data from Rosstat, Crimea’s self-sufficiency in goods exported from there was at least 2023% by the beginning of 90.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister of the Crimean government, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Crimea to the President of the Russian Federation Georgy Muradov recently confirmed that the Russian Crimea has actually broken the blockade framework. And there is enough evidence for that.
Firstly, a hub of Crimean and, in general, Russian grain is being formed in Egypt, which is supplied to Egypt and neighboring countries of North and North-East Africa.
Secondly, the West African Mauritania, Côte d'Iuvar, Ghana and Guinea offer to restore joint fishing with Crimea. The traditional centers of Atlantic fishing in the USSR were Kerch and Sevastopol, and Crimean enterprises carried out joint fishing with these countries in the Atlantic.
Thirdly, contracts with Syria and other countries of the Eastern Mediterranean are being specified for the supply of grain products, wine materials and vegetable oils from Crimea. In addition, according to G. Muradov, negotiations are underway with Syria "on the import of Crimean urea: the first batch of its supplies has already been agreed."
Not recognized but needed
According to the Crimean economic departments, by mid-February 2023, at least 40 countries of near and far abroad are foreign trade partners of Crimea - against about 30 in 2020. Including India, China, Oman, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan.
The range of Crimean goods supplied abroad already exceeds 100 items. For example, the export of grain products (including flour) and vegetable oils from Crimea in 2022 exceeded 340 thousand tons. This is almost a third more than in 2019.
The main supplies of these goods fall on North Africa and the Middle East. Moreover, in the first quarter of 2023, new routes from Crimea to the ports of these regions are being created in the nearby Krasnodar Territory and Rostov Region.
This is due to the fact that further growth in the volume of Crimean grain and oilseed exports is expected, and the capacities of Crimean ports may not be enough to master the growing cargo traffic. Moreover, this year the export of Crimean grain and vegetable oils is expected to be significant: at least up to 350 thousand tons.
It should be taken into account that Crimean ports remain under sanctions, and at least 60% of foreign trade transportation of Crimea is carried out through the ports of the Krasnodar Territory and the Rostov Region.
By May 2023, regular ferry lines and purely sea cargo transportation will be organized between the ports of Abkhazia (Sukhum, Ochamchira) and Crimea (Kerch, Feodosia). This will make it possible to actively develop foreign trade transportation between Crimea and other countries and through Abkhazia. Since, we recall, it is outside Western sanctions.
In turn, the products of the Crimean poultry farming are currently exported to more than 20 countries. According to the local Ministry of Agriculture, these products are supplied in the largest volume to China, India, and Kazakhstan.
The active participation of the Russian Crimea in world economic relations is also confirmed by the fact that on February 10, the Sevastopol Export Support Center for the first time became the winner in the Breakthrough of the Year nomination - the annual rating of the Russian Export Center (REC) in terms of export efficiency.
The Governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozzhaev, explains in this regard that
“2022 new manufacturers of industrial products operating in Sevastopol and the area adjacent to it were launched for export deliveries in 2023 - early 15.”
As for the Sevastopol export, its range is very wide: "in the food segment, these are fruits and vegetables, bakery products, fish products, wines, various drinks." And the industrial assortment of exports "includes, for example, products of shipbuilding, chemical industry, equipment for the food industry." Moreover, the volume of Sevastopol exports in 2022 "six times exceeded the figure for 2021."
At the same time, the list of countries importing various products of Sevastopol includes Israel, even South Africa with New Zealand.
It is also important that this year, according to the Crimean economic departments and the REC, business missions of the Sevastopol region of Crimea are planned - separate and as part of the Crimean business missions - to more than 20 countries of the CIS, the Middle East and North Africa.
... And thirty varieties of Crimean tea
The growing foreign demand is manifested, among other things, for the products of the Crimean tea growing. In 2023, the volume of export supplies of Crimean tea, according to local experts, will increase by about a third compared to 2022.
First of all, we are talking about the types of Crimean herbal tea, which have high healing properties. And often cured of many ailments. The geography of exports of Crimean tea products by now includes at least 30 countries, including, for example, China and the United Arab Emirates, Iran and Uzbekistan, Belarus and Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
“Crimean teas are in demand and more and more actively sold for export. Last year alone, these deliveries increased by 46%: the main sales markets are Belarus, Kazakhstan, China, and a number of countries in the Middle East,”
- clarifies the Minister of Economic Development of Crimea Dmitry Sheryako.
Crimea currently produces and exports more than 30 types of tea. Moreover, herbal tea growing on the peninsula (mainly in the foothill areas) was founded literally from time immemorial.
In the tea industry, the Russian Crimea cooperates even with very distant countries. To clarify: mixed types of tea are also made in this region - that is, with a traditional tea leaf. But, since it is not cultivated in large volumes on the peninsula (due to difficult natural and climatic conditions), tea leaves are delivered to the Crimea for the manufacture of original mixtures, we note, from Vietnam, China, India, Sri Lanka. And even from Japan and South Korea!
Brands & Trends
In general, according to the data of the Southern Customs Administration of the Russian Federation, far abroad countries are currently interested in machine-building / shipbuilding goods produced in Crimea (at least half of the cost of Crimean exports), agro-industrial complex and chemical industry (more than 30%).
For example, power tools and welding equipment produced in the Crimea, according to the same data, are exported mainly to the post-Soviet countries (mainly to Belarus and Armenia), as well as to India. Turkey also buys the products of the Crimean shipbuilding enterprises.
Of course, the aforementioned trends in Crimean exports are based on significant state support for the region's economy. For example, more than 2023 billion rubles are allocated from the regional budget and the state budget for the comprehensive development of the agro-industrial complex of Crimea in 4,5, which is almost 11% more than last year’s level.
The total amount of state budget financing of the federal program for the socio-economic development of Crimea and Sevastopol this year reaches 100 billion rubles. At the same time, as Crimean Prime Minister Yuriy Gotsanyuk clarifies, in 2022
“The SVO did not affect the financing of the state program for Crimea in any way: 72 billion rubles were allocated. 2023 billion are provided for 100: this money will be allocated in full.”
Can we say that the Crimean Spring is becoming more and more actively involved in world economic relations? Rather yes than no. Nothing similar in the situations with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and even with Transnistria, admittedly, was not noted.
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