Socio-economic Impact of Chinese Agribusiness Entrepreneurs in Russian Far East on Local Farmers

Since the liberalization of the Sino-Soviet border in 1990’s, Chinese farmers have been actively engaged in the economy of Russian Far East. Literature suggests that Chinese workers fill a labour shortage, contribute positively to local food security, with negative impacts being more socially normative and political, than economic. So far no economic empirical research exists about Chinese farmers’ presence in Russian Far East. On the basis of a panel data, an econometric model was used to analyse socio-economic impact of Chinese agribusiness entrepreneurs in Russian Far East on local households. Regression models show that presence of Chinese farmers in Russian Far East increases the probability of higher well-being, farm income, food costs and share of Chinese food purchased among Russian Far East households. These results suggest that benefits of cooperation with Chinese farmers and retailers should not be ignored when designing policies towards sustainable development of rural areas in Russian Far East. Possible environmental, social and economic externalities of further soybean production in Russian Far East are also discussed.