Brussels set to make payouts for farmers hit by Putin’s sanctions
EUROZONE fruit and vegetable farmers hit by the Russian government’s food sanctions are set for a payout, with Brussels pledging €125m (£99.9m) in compensation to those affected yesterday.
The action is designed to help prop up food prices in the single market. Dacian Ciolos, the EU’s agriculture commissioner, said that the action was meant to “reduce overall supply of a number of fruit and vegetable products” so that there would not be too much downwards pressure on prices. The move applies to a range of products currently in season, which cannot reasonably be sold or stored.
European figures released yesterday also showed that the bloc’s trading relationship with Russia had deteriorated before the impact of recent tit-for-tat sanctions began.
In the first five months of the year, Eurozone trade in goods to Russia dropped to €32.1bn, a 14 per cent fall from the same period last year, the sharpest decrease in Europe. Imports from the country fell by seven per cent.
“Russia was not the only weak spot in the first half of the year, with exports to Switzerland and Turkey falling by four and eight per cent, respectively,” said Berenberg’s Christian Schulz.
The conflict in east Ukraine escalated again yesterday, with government and rebel forces both laying the blame for the shelling of a refugee convoy that reportedly killed dozens of people.