RUSSIA will reduce import duties on apples and pears by nearly half after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), and then cut them in half again by 2017. The import duty on pears will be reduced by half by 2015, according to Interfax, citing a document outlining Russia’s obligations upon accession to the WTO.
The current duty on apples imported from 1 January to 30 June is EUR0.10 pr kilo. Once Russia joins the WTO, which is expected to happen by the middle of 2012, the duty will drop to six euro cents/kg and by 2017 it is scheduled to decrease to three cents/kg (and to one and a half cents for apples imported from 1 April to 30 July). The duty on apple imports from 1 August to 31 December is currently EUR0.20/kg, depending on the type of product, and this will drop to six euro cents and then three euro cents per kilo by 2017.
Source: www.agra-net.com, www.interfax.com