MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russian restrictions on the food imports from the European Union, imposed as a countermeasure to the European economic sanctions, may turn into a catastrophe for the whole Europe, the coordinator of the Austrian gardeners union said on Tuesday.
“Russian import ban is a catastrophe for the whole Europe,” Rupert Gsols said as quoted by the Austrian Salzburger Nachrichten newspaper in an article, published on Tuesday.
Gsols voiced concern that the average fruit price this year will drop to 20 cents per kilogram as opposed to the sufficient 40 cents last year. And, according to the newspaper, fruit producers can only afford making investments if they make more than 35 cents per kilogram.
This year, apple production in Europe is expected to reach 12 million tons, as opposed to the yearly average of 10-11 million. More than 3 million tons of the European apples are produced in Poland, which normally exports about 700,000 tons to Russia.
The Salzburger Nachrichten notes that now Russia will apparently get most of its fruit and vegetables from Turkey, adding that “Brazil also has a chance.”
On August 7, Russia introduced a one-year ban on food imports from the European Union, the United States, Canada, Australia and Norway.
