MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. Russia has been able to substitute imported foodstuffs hit by its food embargo imposed in response to western sanctions, Agriculture Minister Nikolay Fyodorov said on Monday.
“Over the four months, we have actually substituted the shortfall of foodstuffs caused by Russia’s forced measures related to the so-called food embargo,” the agriculture minister said.
“Perhaps, the range of products is not substituted by 100% but the problem of finding alternative suppliers from foreign states has been generally resolved,” he said.
The group of alternative importers primarily includes Belarus and Kazakhstan as members of the Customs Union with Russia, as well as Armenia and Kyrgyzstan joining the post-Soviet trade bloc, and also other CIS countries, Latin American and Asian states, he said.
Russia fully banned from August 7, 2014 the imports of meat, fish, cheeses, milk, vegetables and fruits from western countries that had imposed economic sanctions against Russian citizens and companies. The countries that have slapped sanctions against Russia include the European Union member states, Norway, the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan. Russia’s food imports from these countries amounted to $9.1 billion in 2013, according to the Federal Customs Service, of which the EU accounted for 66%.