EU to Discourage Latin America From Exporting Food to Russia
The European Union appears set to hold talks with Latin American countries to discourage them from exporting food to Russia, according to a report from RT.
Last week, Russia put a ban on importing foods from the EU and the U.S. in response to increased sanctions against the country for its activity in Ukraine. Latin America could take advantage of the ban on imported foods as Russia recently has made an effort to improve relations with many countries in the region.
"We will be talking to the countries that would potentially (replace) our exports to indicate that we would expect them not to profit unfairly for the current situation," a senior EU official said Monday.
Chile and Brazil are expected to be the major beneficiaries of the Russian ban of imports. Chile would be able to take advantage of the supply gap in fish, while Brazil already has given the signal for around 90 factories to start exporting a variety of meats.
"Russia has the potential to be a large consumer of agricultural commodities, not just meat," said Seneri Paludo, Brazil's secretary for agricultural policy, adding that Brazil would be a good source from which to buy corn and soy beans.
Another EU official told The Moscow Times that the discussions with Latin America would focus on the importance of a united international stance on Russia's alleged assistance of separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine.
The EU and U.S. have imposed harsher sanctions on Russia for its activities in Ukraine, to which the Russians responded by banning imports of fruit, vegetables, fish, meat products, cheese, milk and dairy from countries that places sanctions on the country.
After the imports ban, Russia's Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Inspection Service held talks with representatives of Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Chile on the possibility of upping food imports from the region.
Latin American countries aren't the only ones that could benefit from the embargo, as Belarus and Turkey are also believed to gain an advantage from the ban.
The EU is set to hold a meeting in Brussels on Thursday where members are expected to work out a response to Russia's ban on imports.
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