Russia steps up food fight: Official ban on food imports signed by Russian PM

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced that he had signed a decree introducing a ‘full embargo’ on a number of categories of food from the EU, US, Australia, Canada and Norway.

"Pursuant to the decree of the president, I have signed a government decree. Russia imposes a total ban on the supply of beef, pork, fruits and vegetables … poultry, fish, cheese, milk and dairy products,"​ said Medvedev this morning.

“In fact, we are talking about an embargo on imports of whole categories of products from those countries that have imposed economic sanctions on Russian organizations and citizens,”​ the PM added.

Russia is Europe's second-largest market for food and drink exports and has been an important consumer of Polish pig meat and Dutch fruit and vegetables. Exports of food and raw materials to Russia were worth €12.2bn (£9.7bn) in 2013, following several years of double-digit growth.

According to Russian media sources the embargo comes in response to the actions of the West and will last one year, but does not cover baby food or products that people buy while abroad in the countries affected by the import ban.

While the ban has been initially penned for one year, Medvedev also conceded that “if our partners demonstrate a constructive approach on cooperation, the Russian government is ready to revise the terms of those measures.”​

"All of these measures, which I have just said, are extremely reactive. These developments, we do not want",​ said Medvedev at a government meeting.

The full decree can be found here (in Russian),​ while a summary of the decree in English, and full list of the foods categories affected by the ban, can be found below:

Decree details​

The decree sets out the terms of a one year ban on the import of agricultural products to the Russian Federation, covering “raw materials and foodstuffs originating in the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia and the Kingdom of Norway, according to the list application.”

The list of agricultural products, raw materials and foodstuffs originating in the United States, the EU, Canada, Australia and Norway and are valid for one year banned in the Russian Federation (with HS codes)

• Meat of bovine animals, fresh or chilled (0201)
• Meat of bovine animals, frozen (0202)
• Pork, fresh, chilled or frozen (0203)
• Meat and edible offal, of the poultry of heading 0105, fresh, chilled or frozen (0207)
• Meat salted, in brine, dried or smoked (from 0210 *** except for goods destined for baby food)
• Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates (0301, 0302, 0303, 0304, 0305, 0306, 0307, ​​0308)
• Milk and dairy products (0401, 0402, 0403, 0404, 0405, 0406)
• Vegetables, edible roots and tubers (0701, 0702 00 000, 0703, 0704, 0705, 0706, 0707 00, 0708, 0709, 0710, 0711, 0712, 0713, 0714)
• Fruit and nuts (0801, 0802, 0803, 0804, 0805, 0806, 0807, 0808, 0809, 0810, 0811, 0813)
• Sausages and similar products of meat, meat offal or blood; food preparations based thereon (1601 00)
• Finished products, including cheese and curd based on vegetable fats (1901 90 110 0, 1901 90 910 0)
• Foods [milk-products based on vegetable fat] (2106 90 920 0, 2106 90 980 4 90 980 2106 5, 2106 90 980 9)