BRUSSELS, August 08. /ITAR-TASS/. The European Commission may provide up to 400 million euro from its reserves to compensate European farmers for losses through Russia’s food products import ban, local media said on Friday, quoting EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht.

A preliminary proposal from the commission is expected next week under EU budget reserves of 400 million euro annually for crisis situations in agriculture, media said.

On Thursday, Russia announced suspension of food imports from Norway, Canada, Australia, the United States and the 28-nation European Union worth billions of dollars in retaliation for sanctions imposed by those nations in recent weeks over events in Ukraine.

The ban, targeting cheese, fish, beef, pork, fruit, vegetables and dairy products over the next 12 months, is expected to seriously affect Western economies.

Combined with other import bans imposed earlier this year, the new trade measures cover Western imports worth $9.1 billion in 2013, according to Russian customs data. Exports of sanctioned products from Europe to Russia were worth $6.5 billion last year.