BRUSSELS, August 07. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian market accounts for 30% of fruit exports and 20% of vegetable exports from European countries, a source in the European Commission told ITAR-TASS on Thursday.

Banning imports of food and agricultural products from the European Union “may mean a loss of billions of euros both for European and Russian consumers”, the source said.

The European Commission will start analysing Russian ban on fruit and vegetables from the EU as soon as a full list of banned products is released.

Russia is Europe's second largest market for food and drink. According to European Commission figures, exports of food products to Russia were worth $7.4 billion in 2013.

On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree prohibiting or limiting “certain types of agricultural products originating in countries that have decided to impose economic sanctions against Russian legal entities and/or individuals or those associated with these measures.”

Putin’s decree instructed his government to devise an action plan and draft a list of products that would be subject to the ban.