NL will lose out on €1.5b in exports from Russia boycott

This Thursday, there will be a European discussion in Brussels about possible measures for companies that are going to be affected by the Russian food boycott. For Dutch export, VNO-NCW-director Hans de Boer warns that the damage could be €1.5 to €2 billion, the NOS reports. Overproduced bell peppers and tomatoes could experience a hefty drop in value. This has not yet been calculated into the total predicted loss. Earlier, the loss for The Netherlands was guessed to be around €500 million, but De Boer calls this optimistic. He says that this fails to take into account Dutch wholesale companies operating out of Poland. On Monday, representatives of entrepreneurs had discussions with State Secretary Dijksma of Economic Affairs about possible measures. VNO-NCW pleads for politics to take action in the market. The enterprise organization states that companies should produce less to diminish oversupply. This should be covered by damage insurance. LTO Nederland agrees with VNO-NCW. "With a little bit of European money, we can also make sure that the food that we get out of the market is prepared in a suitable manner, or ends up where it is most needed", says president Maat. The European Commission began with assessment of this solution yesterday. State Secretary Dijksma emphasized yesterday that the food-producers' problems ask for a European solution.