MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Deliveries of tomatoes from Turkey to Russia will begin in the end of 2017, Agriculture Minister of Russia Alexander Tkachev said in an interview to the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
"Indeed, at the end of this year we will start importing small volumes - about 50,000-60,000 tonnes of tomatoes to Russia," he said.
Tkachev attributed the supplies to the off-season factor.
" We have agreed with our Turkish colleagues (on deliveries of tomatoes) considering that this will be winter and early spring the time we don’t grow these products, unfortunately, due to weather conditions, " he said.
Earlier, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said that the Agriculture Ministry considers importing not more than 50,000 tonnes of Turkish tomatoes a year, and the relevant decision would be made no earlier than in the beginning of 2018.
He did not rule out that Russia may agree to start import Turkish tomatoes before the end of 2017.
From January 1, 2016, Russia limited imports of Turkish agricultural products. This measure was taken after Turkish fighters shot down the Russian Su-24 bomber. Currently, almost all the restrictions have been lifted, but the ban on import of tomatoes remains.
Earlier, Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeibecchi said that the republic is going to start supplying tomatoes to Russia during this season, which begins on October 1.