MOSCOW, October 25. /TASS/. Imports of Turkish citrus fruit to Russia following a temporary removal of restrictions may start "any day", Vladimir Bulavin, head of the Federal Customs Service told reporters on Tuesday.
"I have not received the exact information yet but they may start any day," he said.
Deputy Head of the Federal Customs Service Ruslan Davydov added that technically the Russian Customs Service is ready to receive Turkish citrus fruit.
"The Customs Service is ready, as soon as the business is ready, we are ready to clear goods through customs. Technically there aren’t any problems," he said.
Russia banned supplies of a number of food imports from Turkey from January 1, 2016. The list of products banned for import included fruits (oranges, tangerines, grapes, apples, pears, apricots, peaches and nectarines, plums, wild strawberries and strawberries) and vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, yellow onions). Also, supplies of frozen turkey, chicken, fresh Turkish pinks and salt were banned. This decision was part of the sanctions against Turkey amid political tension between the countries.
Besides that the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance banned imports of some crop plants from Turkey due to phytosanitary reasons. In March-April, Russia banned imports of Turkish pepper, eggplants and pomegranates.
From May 16, the Russian regulator banned imports of lettuce and iceberg lettuce from Turkey due to the same reasons.
On October 9, 2016, the Russian government approved the resolution allowing Turkey to supply mandarins, oranges, peaches and nectarines, apricots and plum to Russia. In total, the share of products allowed for imports into Russia accounted for 35.9% of the goods affected by the embargo.
Although in June 2016 the bilateral relations began to improve and restrictions on travel between the two countries were removed, the food embargo has not been fully canceled.