Borderline districts will benefit from increase in Russian shoppers, says Lithuanian president

In her words, trade in borderline regions will be get a boost from Russia‘s recently imposed ban on food imports from the European Union.

“Jurbarkas residents, as residents of a borderline district, will most probably see an increase in the number of Kaliningrad shoppers soon,” the president told the local Šviesa newspaper. “After Russia banned imports of agricultural produce and food products, your neighbours will have no other way but to bring food products themselves. Borderline areas will most probably become islands of increased trade for some time, and they will benefit from that, although not considerably,” the Lithuanian president said.

In response to Western sanctions for the annexation of Crimea and support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, Moscow imposed a ban last week on imports of agricultural produce and food products from the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada and Norway.