OREANDA-NEWS. September 12, 2014. The Estonian Institute of Economic Research has put a number on last month's Russian ban on the import of food products, fish, meat, and fruit and vegetables from EU nations.

The direct loss is only 75 million euros, the sum of the banned products exported to Russia annually, while that figure doubles as many raw ingredients are exported to neighboring countries, which would have been processed and sent to Russia.

Cheese manufacturers are suffering the most, with their losses calculated at 27 million euros. Raw fish and fish products make up 15 million euros annually in exports to the eastern neighbor, with milk and dairy products in a similar bracket.

Losses from indirect exports to Russia are hitting the dairy industry the hardest.

Marje Josing, the head of the institute, said the figures are food for thought for companies which have failed to diversify markets, adding that businesses have played safe in comfortable schemes of selling raw material, instead of adding value or trying to crack Scandinavian or German markets.

She said looking at the bigger picture, the food industry is growing in the world, and demand is increasing.