Russia blocks agricultural imports from Western countries in response to sanctions

Russia announced Thursday that it had banned imports of meat, fish, milk and milk products and fruit and vegetables from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Norway.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced the import ban on orders from the country's president, Vladimir Putin in response to sanctions imposed on Russia by the West over the crisis in Ukraine. The ban has been introduced for one year.

Medvedev also said that Russia is considering banning Western carriers from flying over Russia on flights to and from Asia -- a move that would significantly swell costs and increase flight time. He said the decision on that hasn't been made yet.

Russia may introduce restrictions regarding imports of planes, navy vessels and cars, Medvedev said, but added that the government will realistically assess its own production potential.

The move follows the latest round of sanctions against Russia imposed by the EU last week, which for the first time targeted entire sectors of the Russian economy. The U.S. and the EU have accused Russia, which annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March, of fomenting tensions in eastern Ukraine by supplying arms and expertise to a pro-Moscow insurgency, and have imposed asset freezes and loan bans on a score of individuals and companies.

News of the import bans was first reported by Russian news agencies Wednesday.

Russia depends heavily on imported foodstuffs - most of it from the West - particularly in the largest and most prosperous cities such as Moscow. Food and agricultural imports from the U.S. amounted to $1.3 billion last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and in 2013 the EU's agricultural exports to Russia totaled 11.8 billion euros ($15.8 billion).

contributed to this report.



from Google News http://#

via IFTTT

Tweet