Russia to ban all US agricultural products, EU fruit & vegetable imports – Watchdog

RT.com

Moscow plans to ban all US agricultural products, including poultry, as well as EU fruit and vegetable imports in response to Western sanctions imposed on Russia over the Ukrainian crisis, according to the country’s agricultural watchdog.

All agricultural goods produced in the US and imported into Russia will be halted for one year, the assistant to the head of Rosselkhoznadzor, Aleksey Alekseyenko, told RIA Novosti.

The list of banned products will be published on Thursday, he added.

EU fruits and vegetables also fall under the ban, Alekseyenko added. A source told Itar-Tass that dairy products from the EU will be included on the list, as well.

“The list includes milk powder, butter and cheese,” the source said, adding that this also includes mass production cheeses.

Russia’s sanctions on US and EU food imports will be “quite substantial,” Alekseyenko concluded. The restrictions are to affect those countries which have initiated sanctions against Russia, he said.

By the end of 2013, the major importers of dairy products to Russia were Finland, with 17,8000 tons worth US$19.6 million dollars; Estonia, with 8,300 tons worth $19.4 million; Poland, with 3.8 tons worth $8 million; and Lithuania, with three tons worth $7.3 million, according to Russia’s Federal Customs Service.