Russia has banned imports of all fresh vegetables from across the European Union in response to the E.coli outbreak in northern Europe and has pledged to seize all EU-grown vegetables currently on sale in the country.
With 16 people reported to have died in Germany and one in Sweden, the Russian authorities have announced that a ban imposed on vegetable imports from Germany and Spain will now be extended to cover all of the countries within the economic union.
Russian fresh produce importers believe the decision is likely to lead to an increase in consumer prices for many staple goods in the country, including potatoes, over the coming days.
One leading importer told Eurofruit that potato retail prices will rise, as Russia has imposed bans on its two main import sources during this time of year, the EU and Egypt, with the country’s own potato harvest not expected to begin for at least another two weeks.
“We may face an increase in prices over the next 10 days to two weeks - all the supplies that were in the warehouses have now been sold,” he said.
However, as well as potatoes from France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, the importer said his company had also had to stop trading in carrots from Poland and cucumbers and tomatoes from Spain.
“There have been situations before where imports from one or other EU countries have been banned in Russia and we have been able to cope by transferring them through the likes of Lithuania, but this time the ban covers all countries,” he added.
However, Valya Varvaritsa, head of imports at the Moscow-based Globus Group, said it was still “too early” to assess what kind of impact the ban may have for the sector.
“We don’t know yet whether there is any official instruction to stop importing EU vegetables, so we don’t yet what effect it will have.”
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