Russia to ease food embargo
The Russian Government has decided to ease the food embargo and allow the import of beef, poultry and vegetables. All of these products will be used for baby food production, the Ministry of Agriculture told TASS on Wednesday.
“In order to stimulate domestic baby food production, the Government regulation of 27 May 2016 excludes raw materials used for baby food production from the embargo,” as TASS cited a representative of the Ministry.
These products will be allowed for import if its purpose is confirmed by the Ministry of Agriculture. The Agency will also have to develop and approve the procedure to confirm the target destination of imported products and approve as appropriate the amount of its import to Russia. Moreover, raw materials for production in Russia and in countries subject to embargo will be taken into account.
On the 27th of May, the Ministry of Agriculture reported that work on the draft regulation on extending the food embargo until 2017 has started.
On the same day, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered the creation of proposals to determine which retaliatory measures against Western sanctions will be extended. The Minister explained that this will allow domestic producers more opportunities for investment planning in Russia’s agricultural business, as was repeatedly requested by agrarian companies.”
The U.S.A. and EU countries imposed sanctions against Russia in 2014 in response to the annexation of Crimea by Russia and again due to their involvement in the situation in eastern Ukraine. As a retaliatory measure in August 2014, Moscow banned the import of products from countries that supported the sanctions.