Over the past year, Russian authorities have destroyed a total of 7,282 tonnes of vegetable products and 228 tonnes of animal products banned for import into the country.
According to the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, the plant products most frequently subjected to destruction are pears, apples, peaches, peppers, tomatoes, aubergines, nectarines, grapes, strawberries and oranges.
The Russian embargo, forbidding the supply of food from Western countries, namely the US, EU, Canada, Australia and Norway, has already been in force since 7 August 2014, but in 2015, the Russian government decided to deal with the issue in a more severe way. The destruction of products from Western countries affected by the ban started on 6 August 2015 by decree of President Vladimir Putin. The disposal of such products is permitted to be carried out “in any way possible.”
The Kremlin renewed the period in which illegally imported products can be destroyed to 31 December 2017.