Russian Premier extends food ban on US, EU, allies
June 25, 2015, 10:48 am

Russia also said the EU decision to prolong the sanctions was “guaranteed to cause hundreds of thousands of Europeans to lose their jobs” [Xinhua]

“I just approved a government decree on goods which will be subject to an import ban to our country for another year, until August 5 next year,” Medvedev said.

“The basic list of prohibited imports has not been changed. The ban has been extended until August 2016. The restrictions can only be lifted as a reciprocal move. Unfortunately, the EU does not appear to be ready for this,” added the Russian Prime Minister on Thursday.

Russia also said the EU decision to prolong the sanctions was “guaranteed to cause hundreds of thousands of Europeans to lose their jobs”. More than a third of Russia’s agricultural imports came from the EU.

Russia, last year, suspended imports of meat, fish, fruit, vegetables and milk products from the United States, the 28-nation European Union, Norway, Canada and Australia.

The counter-sanctions could escalate an economic conflict that will deal a multibillion-dollar hit to affected nations.

“We hoped until the very last moment that our foreign partners would realize that the path of sanctions is a dead-end and that nobody needs them,” Medvedev said in August last year. “They failed to realize it.”

Following the near total food imports ban imposed by Russia on the US and certain EU nations, BRICS exports to Russia are growing substantially, data revealed last year.

After 90 new meat plants in Brazil were recently approved to send beef, chicken and pork to Russia, Brazilian meat exports to the country has soared.

Chinese company Baorong has also opened a special customs zone for Russia for direct exports of fruits and vegetables across the Russia-China border following the EU ban.

TBP and Agencies