MOSCOW, August 4 During the food embargo against Western countries, Russia has significantly reduced imports of meat and some popular types of vegetables, such as cucumbers, tomatoes and cabbage, according to data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
In August 2014, Russia banned the import of certain types of agricultural products, raw materials and food from countries that had imposed anti-Russian sanctions, including the United States, EU countries, Canada, Australia and Norway. The ban included meat, sausages, fish and seafood, vegetables, fruits and dairy products. As the sanctions continued, Russia extended these measures. In October last year, the embargo was extended until 2024, excluding whey for infant formula. Russia does not disclose data on deliveries, and the FAO does so with a significant lag: the latest up-to-date data is presented as of 2022.
The most noticeable decrease compared to 2014 was in foreign purchases of boneless pork — by 23.5 times, to 12 thousand tons. Chicken imports fell by 9 times, to 50 thousand tons, and supplies of imported beef also dropped quite noticeably — by 4.2 times, to 125 thousand tons.
Vegetable products were also among the leaders in terms of import reduction: supplies of foreign cucumbers decreased by 7 times, to 33 thousand tons, tomatoes — by 2.73 times, to 311 thousand tons, cabbage — by 2.6 times, to 88 thousand tons. Ice cream (by 2.15 times, to 7 thousand tons) and apples (by 2.14 times, to 490 thousand tons) were also on the list.
At the same time, among the most popular import items there were items whose purchases increased compared to 2014 — mainly various fruits and berries. Thus, banana imports increased by 27%, to 1.6 million tons, grapes — by 30%, to 426 thousand tons, peaches and nectarines — by 37%, to 309 thousand tons, lemons and limes — by 26%, to 265 thousand tons.