Russia may face bakery equipment problems due to EU sanctions

In Russia, interruptions may begin with equipment for bakeries, the import of which was banned by the European Union last week as part of a new package of sanctions, Kommersant reports.

It is noted that up to 90% of large bakeries in Russia operate using European equipment.

According to the executive director of the National Union of Bakery Rustam Aydiev, large manufacturers will have enough stocks of components and consumables for equipment for several months. He noted that it will be almost impossible to replace various electronics and sensors.

In turn, Yury Katsnelson, vice-president of the Union of Bakers and Confectioners, suggests that the problem can be solved thanks to parallel imports, but this will lead to an increase in costs that manufacturers will include in the price of the final product.

Retailers and catering operators who develop their mini-bakeries are also highly dependent on European equipment. X5 Group stated that they have already found new suppliers of furnaces in China and continue to look for contractors in Turkey and Russia. In turn, Azbuka Vkusa, Yandex.Lavka and Vkusville reported that they had not yet encountered problems in servicing European ovens.

In addition, almost all restaurants use baking equipment from the EU. It is possible that the vacated niche in this sector will be occupied by manufacturers from the Asia-Pacific region. At the same time, during the transition to new suppliers, there may be interruptions in production for several months.