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Anti-Russian sanctions

Pakistan ready to replace banned Australian lamb imports in Russian market

Pakistan is also ready to start exporting dairy products and fish and increase the supplies of potato and citrus fruits

© AP Photo/Eric Risberg

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Belarus ready to supply 1 million tons of potatoes to Russia in 2014

MOSCOW, August 21. /ITAR-TASS/. Pakistan is ready to replace banned Australian lamb imports in the Russian market, new Pakistani Ambassador to Russia Zaheer Aslam Janjua said at a meeting with Sergei Dankvert, the head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control (Rosselkhoznadzor), on Thursday.

Janjua stressed that Pakistan could exceed the amounts of lamb meat which Australia used to export to Russia. “Large beef supplies are also possible,” he said.

According to the Russian Customs Service, Australia exported $26.7 million worth of lamb meat to Russia in 2013. It was the second biggest lamb meat supplier to the Russian market after New Zealand ($23 million). The overall lamb exports to Russia are valued at $57 million.

Pakistan is also ready to start exporting dairy products and fish and increase the supplies of potato and citrus fruits. The sides agreed to exchange technical data needed to start the supply of a new group of products.

Pakistan supplied $75 million worth of agricultural products to Russia in the first six months of 2014. Pakistani agricultural exports to Russia were valued at $104 million in 2013.

On August 7, Russia banned imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheese, dairy products, fruit and vegetables from Australia, Canada, Norway, the U.S. and the E.U. for one year as an answer to the Western sanctions.

Since then Russia has been in talks with Latin and South American countries, the Middle East and Asia to replace the banned imports. Many countries said they were ready to boost exports.

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