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In Decree No. 730 dated November 21, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended the Russian food embargo until December 31, 2021, with respect to the supply of products from countries that imposed or supported anti-Russian sanctions.
The food embargo was introduced by the Presidential Decree on August 6, 2014, against those countries that had declared or supported anti-Russian sanctions. Initially, it applied to products from the United States, the European Union, Australia, Norway, and Canada. As of August 13, 2015, this list also included Albania, Montenegro, Iceland, and Liechtenstein, which joined the anti-Russian sanctions, and as of January 1, 2016, Ukraine.
Initially, the ban included meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, fish and fish products, fruits, and vegetables. Starting October 2017, the import of live pigs (with the exception of purebred breeding animals), as well as by-products (offal), animal fats, and butter was also prohibited.
The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that the food embargo has made it possible to eliminate the country's dependence on imports of most commodities. According to the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Victoria Abramchenko, the results of 2019 reveal the indicators set by the Guidelines for the country's food security were achieved in terms of the production of cereals, sugar, vegetable oil, meat and meat products, potatoes, fish and fish products.
As the First Vice-Chairman of the State Duma's Agricultural Committee Vladimir Plotnikov points out, the extension of the food embargo will enable Russian producers to replace imports for which there is still dependence, for instance, on fruits and vegetables.
December 17, 2020/ Boletín de Noticias del Exterior-MAPA/ Spain.
https://www.mapa.gob.es
