Russia hits back, bans food imports from US and EU

Russia on Thursday announced a ban on all imports of food, including meat, fruit, vegetables and milk products, from the United States, the European Union and other countries that have supported sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine.

Russia imported food worth €11.8 billion ($15.8 billion) from the EU in 2013 while its food imports from US amounted to $1.3 billion.

Announcing the tit-for-tat measures, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Russia was also considering banning transit flights of US and European airlines over Russian airspace.

The food import curbs, which are effective immediately and will be in place for a year, will significantly curtail the range of food available in the Russian market while undermining business interests in the West as well.

While food will continue flowing from Asia, Turkey and South America and keep grocery stores supplied, the restrictions on western food could still drive up prices as Russia is highly dependent on imports for such food, say analysts.

In a signal that Russia is not backing down from a confrontation that has sent Western-Russian tensions to heights not seen since the Cold War, Russia also announced budgetary measures that incorporate the negative impact of sanctions against individual Russian companies and the entire country.

The Russian budget, presented on Tuesday, proposed to more actively engage in import substitution and support to high-tech industries, including the nuclear industry, aerospace, and others in order to offset the negative impact of sanctions against individual Russian companies.

''In any case, no matter what happens, there is no question that we will continue to move forward, implement programmes and projects of national significance,'' Medvedev said, adding that his government will honour all social commitments.

The US and EU last week imposed new sanctions on major Russian banks and banned export of products and technology for the oil industry and the defence sector over, what they say, Russia fomenting a pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine and massing troops on the border.

The Russian ban applies to all meat, milk products and produce from the US, the 28-nation EU, Australia, Norway and Canada. Alcohol was not included in the ban.

''Until the last moment, we hoped that our foreign colleagues would understand that sanctions lead to a deadlock and no one needs them,'' Medvedev said. ''But they didn't and the situation now requires us to take retaliatory measures.''