It has been up in the air for months already, but now it is also official: Russia will partially lift the boycott of Turkish fresh produce. The first products for which the boycott has been lifted are citrus, pears and plums. The fruit can be imported from regions that are free of diseases and moulds, and import is only allowed via large companies. Those large companies should be able to guarantee the safety of the products, according to the Russians.
Source: Kremlin
“This is a favourable decision for both parties,” said President Putin in his speech. “Russian agriculture does not produce these products and we expect a decrease in prices after the Turkish products enter the market. For our Turkish partners, this means access to the Russian market.” Furthermore, the president indicated that Turkish citrus, plums and pears worth 500 million dollar were imported in 2015.
President Putin visited his Turkish colleague this week. In addition to this trade dispute, other topics were also on the agenda. For example, a deal was made about large energy projects such as the Turkish Stream Pipeline, which had been halted since the boycott.