The EU is calling for UN countries to impose sanctions against Russia. It has been two years since Russia annexed Crimea. China is responding to the call disapprovingly, Canada is extending sanctions. More tropical fruit is arriving in Russia by plane, the main reason is the changing import streams. Russia is temporarily extending the boycott of Turkish products to pomegranates and peppers for phytosanitary reasons. Tajikistan and Morocco want to expand the export of fruit and vegetables to Russia.
EU calls for UN countries to sanction
Last week, 18 March, was the second anniversary of Russia annexing Crimea. The EU has once again denounced the action and called for UN countries to join the sanctions against Russia. After Russia annexed the island the UN did judge the take over. Hundred of countries supported the motion of disapproval. China said they did not see the point in the sanctions. "I haven't yet read the statement. but in general we are against unilateral sanctions. That isn't the way to solve this problem," according to the Chinese ambassador in the UN in Russian media.
Canada extends sanctions
The Canadian government has further extended the sanctions against Russia, the Minister of Economic Affairs announced last week. This decision means that the black list has been extended by ten Russian institutions and two individuals. The oil company Gazprom is among those now being boycotted by the Canadians. The decision was made to increase pressure for a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. The Canadian government wants to keep the sanctions in place until Russia has carried out all agreements in the Minsk agreement.
More tropical fruit to Russia via air transport
Since the start of the boycott the air transport of fruit and vegetables has increased. According to the Russian authorities the cause is in the changing trade stream. Import from Europe mainly arrived by sea. The fruit from South America is flown in increasingly often due to the shorter transport time. The fruit would be en route for 40 days by ship. Russia is mainly looking at Uruguay and Mexico at the moment.
More Turkish tomatoes and Polish apples destroyed
Earlier this week the Russian phytosanitary inspection in Samara took a party of apples and tomatoes from the market. The products were respectively imported from Poland and Turkey. The 1484 kilos of apples and 2876 kilos of tomatoes were destroyed.
Temporary extension of Turkey boycott
The Russian phytosanitary service has temporarily extended the boycott of Turkish product with pepper and pomegranate. As of last week the borders have been closed to these products. The boycott is the result of too many phytosanitary overruns. The boycott also goes for the products that are shipped to Russian through another country.
Tajikistan invests in Russia export
President Emomali Rahmom of Tajikistan sees Russia as an important trade partner for the country. He want to expand the export to Russia by a factor of 1.5. The Central Asian country is investing in agriculture and the export of fruit and vegetables. The export for this season is expected to be 200,000 tonnes.
More Moroccan fruit and vegetables to Russia
Russia is importing more from Morocco. This year the import figure is at 126.6 million dollars, an increase of 43.9 percent. The import of tomatoes rose, the volume tripled to 44,000 tonnes. The supply of other vegetables doubled to almost 2,000 tonnes. The export of citrus rose by 28 percent to 67,000 tonnes. In the coming months Morocco hopes to drive the export up more. The countries see each other as strategic partners.
Belarus re-export of Moldovan products boycotted
Russia is boycotting Moldovan products that come into the country through Belarus. Previously, the Russian inspection service Rosselkhoznador just wanted to tighten the rules for these products. Moscow suspects that European products are being imported into the country under a Moldovan label. In January the head of the Moldovan inspection was arrested for corruption. Together with other employees in the service they were said to have handed out certificates without checking the products properly.