Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Russia not yet ready to lift all agriculture restrictions from Turkey, deputy PM says
Russia is not ready to lift all restrictions in the agriculture sector from Turkey yet, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Thursday.
"We are not ready to remove restrictions (from the Turkish side - TASS) in full since we are to protect the interests of Russian farmers amid sanctions," he said, adding that this is partly a coercive measure.
Meanwhile, Dvorkovich said that he had had a meeting with Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek on the sidelines of the Forum to discuss the progress of the Akkuyu NPP (nuclear power plant) project and the issue of tomato supplies.
Particularly, Russia’s veterinary watchdog will expand the list of Turkish companies delivering their products to the Russian market as agreed earlier, he added.
Russia banned imports of bell pepper, pomegranates, aubergines, lettuce, Iceberg lettuce, marrows and pumpkins from Turkey due to phytosanitary considerations in the spring of 2016. Prior to that Russia restricted imports of oranges, tangerines, grapes, apples, pears, apricots, peaches and nectarines, plums, wild strawberries, strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, yellow onions, as well as frozen turkey and chicken from Turkey starting January 1, according to the government decree on implementation of presidential decree on special economic measures against Turkey.
On May 3, 2017, presidents of Russia and Turkey, Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, agreed to cancel a range of restrictive measures on almost all positions, excluding tomatoes.