President Vladimir Putin issued a decree that bans or reduces for one year imports of food and agricultural products from countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia in the crisis over Ukraine. “The Kremlin decree doesn’t specify which items will be affected,” said the BBC. “Instead, President Putin has ordered his government to draw up the list of food and agricultural products to be limited or banned.” According to the Russian business daily Vedomosti, the list should be ready by today, said the BBC.
“Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted an official from the country’s agricultural and veterinary watchdog as saying that the new sanctions would apply to all agricultural products imported from the United States,” said the BBC, adding that fruit and vegetables from the European Union also would be banned totally. “Moscow is already looking elsewhere for its food imports. It will hold talks this week with Argentina, Ecuador and Brazil.”
U.S. farm exports to Russia were worth $1.2 billion last year, a tiny part of the farm export picture. “This is clearly a political move” and no surprise, said Bob Stallman of the 6-million-member American Farm Bureau Federation, referring to the decree.
Two U.S. trade groups said “we have learned” poultry will be sanctioned. In a joint statement, the National Chicken Council and USA Poultry & Egg Export Council said “we do not expect that a Russian ban will have a great impact on our industry.” Russia is the No 2 market for U.S. poultry exports with 7 percent share of sales. Last year, some 267,000 tonnes of chicken meat worth $303 million were exported to Russia.
The Itar-Tass news agency quoted Mikhail Delyagin, director of the Globalization Problems Institute and a former aide to the Russian prime minister, as saying Russia intended its adversaries to feel the sting of sanctions. “In relations with the United States, Russia may raise the question of banning US fast food outlets, which treat their customers to products harmful to health. The same applies to the marketing of PepsiCo products and genetically modified goods from the US,” Delyagin told Itar-Tass.