While foreign brands are pulling out of Russia, numerous niches will appear that can be taken by Russian companies. This will provide Russian businesses with many new opportunities, says Nikolai Yepikhin, tax expert and head of the Uproshchyonka (‘simplified taxation system’) website.
At first, consumers will be wary of Russian-made products, but after trying them they will probably even not see a difference.
“In my opinion, such businesses as the production of wine and beer (since the Czech beer companies have left), fast food chains (McDonald’s has suspended its operations), sparkling soft drinks (to replace Coca-Cola and Pepsi), and the production of motor oils (Shell has also said goodbye) will likely develop actively in Russia,” the expert told Invest Foresight. “In addition, those foreign brands that cannot compete with the Russian ones due to the dollar exchange rate will be pushed aside. For instance, we will cut our purchase of potatoes and radishes from Israel and garlic from China. It’s time to learn how to grow tasty tomatoes by ourselves and compete with Azerbaijan in this field.”
Russia is an agrarian country, and we can grow and produce all kinds of food, Nikolai Yepikhin believes. Given that Russia has reserves of potassium fertilizers and that exports to Europe have stopped, yields will be very good this year.