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This Little Piggy Stayed Home: Russian Import Ban Hits EU Hog Farmers

© Sputnik / Alexey Danichev / Go to the mediabankThe Russian food embargo continues to ride roughshod over the interests of European farmers, including those involved in hog farming
The Russian food embargo continues to ride roughshod over the interests of European farmers, including those involved in hog farming - Sputnik International
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The Russian food embargo continues to ride roughshod over the interests of European farmers, including those involved in hog farming; Brussels, however, is keeping mum on the matter, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.

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European pig farmers have been among the hardest hit by the Russian food embargo. However, Brussels has preferred to keep silent on the situation, the French newspaper Le Monde reported, specifically referring to the farmers' demands that the anti-Russian sanctions be lifted so they can regain access to the Russian market.

Le Monde recalled that in August 2014, reports about the doors of the Russian market being closed for all kinds of Western agricultural products seriously affected European farmers.

As for the import ban on Western pork, it was introduced by Russia in January 2014 over sanitary rather than political reasons, the newspaper said.

© REUTERS / Stephane MaheFrench livestock farmers arrive by tractor in Rennes, France, to protest falling prices on February 17, 2016
French livestock farmers arrive by tractor in Rennes, France, to protest falling prices on February 17, 2016 - Sputnik International
French livestock farmers arrive by tractor in Rennes, France, to protest falling prices on February 17, 2016

Even though Brussels declines to reveal the exact figures, Le Figaro quoted Jean-Pierre Joly, director of the Breton Pork Market, as saying that the current situation is critical.

"Previously, Europe exported 740,000 tons of pork, but now the volume of exports dropped to zero," he said.

According to him, Russia has already increased its own volume of pork production, also starting to buy about 300,000 metric tons of Brazilian pork. 

Europe's dairy industry was also damaged by the Russian food embargo, Le Monde said, citing the 870 tons of milk worth 1.4 billion euros that Russia received from Europe in 2013. After the Russian borders were closed, the price of milk also collapsed, in a development that led to an overproduction crisis, according to Le Monde.

Meanwhile, Anatoly Torkunov, rector of the Moscow State University of International Relations, told Sputnik that the Europeans realize the fact that cooperation with Russia is of paramount importance.

"If we talk realpolitik, we see that Europe understands that it will be unable to survive without collaboration with Russia in the future," he said.  

Commenting on the statement by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy that Moscow should make the first step related to lifting the sanctions, Torkunov said that he believes that the problems in relations between Russia and the West can only be resolved by joint efforts.

In a separate interview with Sputnik, chief Economist of the Institute of Stock Exchange Market and Management Mikhail Belyayev said that Moscow is ready for a dialogue, but that it was not Moscow which was the first to slap sanctions.

"We are open to dialogue, but we were not the first to introduce the sanctions which is why we should not make the first steps. The ball is in the West's court," he pointed out.

He added that "the sanctions are not the most important issue that we must deal with" and that "the Russian economy has already adapted for the sanctions which are little concern of us."

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Relations between Russia and the West deteriorated over the situation in Ukraine in 2014. The EU imposed an increasingly severe series of anti-Russian sanctions that year. Russia responded by restricting imports of food products from those countries which had imposed the sanctions against Moscow.

Anti-Russian sanctions targeting certain individuals will remain in force until September 15, 2016, while the restrictive measures which target entire sectors of the Russian economy are due to expire on July 31. Sanctions against Russia's Crimean Peninsula will remain in force until June 23.

In June 2015, Russia prolonged the food embargo until August 5, 2016, in a move that was preceded by the same step by the EU.

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