Salmon fry. (Photo: Wikipedia/FIS)
RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Thursday, August 21, 2014, 23:20 (GMT + 9)
The Russian government announced Wednesday that it will authorize the import of Atlantic salmon and trout fry from the European Union (EU), United States, Canada and other countries.
Other food products for which the import ban has been lifted are lactose-free milk and dairy products, potatoes, onions, peas and sweet hybrid corn and beans -- all these vegetables for planting --, food supplements and vitamin.
The decision is due to the lack of impact these products would have on the market, explained Vice Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin, decided to impose a ban on food imports, including fish, from these locations for a year in response to sanctions implemented against the country over events in Ukraine.
"Our actions are: in the first place, legal, secondly, well-founded, and they will benefit the economy," the Russian president stated when he announced the beginning of the trade embargo.
At that time, he also said they were considering "additional measures" to deal with the hypothetical implementation of new sanctions from Europe or United States.
Putin admitted that four years ago the country would have been unable to implement an embargo on Western food, since Russian producers were not prepared, EFE reported.
However, the Russian Government admitted that the ban on food imports from the EU will cost "hundreds of billions of rubles" in subsidies.
Moreover, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) decided to lift the ban on salmon imports from two Chilean firms: Salmon Andes SA and Acuinova Chile, a subsidiary of the Galician multinational firm Pescanova.
"Rosseljoznadzor received research materials and measures taken to indicate that the companies currently meet the health requirements of Russia," reported RiaNovosti.
The Russian authorities had banned the entry of Chilean salmon and trout after detecting E.coli bacteria in some of the imported cases.
This measure can economically benefit Acuinova, which has recently undergone a creditors meeting phase.
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