WARSAW, August 12, /ITAR-TASS/. The Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has prepared a complaint for the World Trade Organization (WTO) in regard to Russia’s recently announced food sanctions against the West, the head of the ministry said.
Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Marek Sawicki said the complaint “had been handed over to Economics Minister Janusz Piechocinski, who is responsible for cooperation with the organization [WTO].”
Sawicki added he hoped that the complaint would advance further.
The Polish agricultural sector sustained heavy losses after Russia’s response sanctions in regard to the European Union. According to rough estimations, Poland’s losses from Russia’s ban on import of Polish fruit and vegetables may amount to 500 million euros (almost $669 million).
Cheese producers in Poland are also calculating possible losses as every fifth metric ton of cheese produced in Poland used to be exported to Russia.
In response to Western sanctions, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Wednesday to ban for one year the imports of agricultural, raw and food products from the countries, which imposed sanctions against Russia.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced on Thursday that the Russian government imposed a one-year ban on imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from Australia, Canada, the European Union, the United States and Norway.
The list of the banned products includes cattle meat (fresh, chilled and refrigerated), pork (fresh, chilled and refrigerated), poultry meat and all poultry edible by-products, salted meat, pickled meat, dried meat, smoked meat, fish and shell fish, clams and other water invertebrates, milk and dairy products, vegetables, edible roots and tuber crops, fruits and nuts, sausage and analogous meat products, meat by-products or blood, as well as products made of them, ready-to-eat products including cheeses and cottage-cheese based on vegetable fats.
The United States and the European Union, as well as Japan introduced a range of sanctions against Russia after Crimea’s merger with the country and over Moscow’s alleged involvement in armed standoff in Ukraine’s southeast.
Moscow repeatedly rejected the threats of broader sanctions saying the language of penalties is counterproductive and will strike back at Western countries.