Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to draw up a list of products that are prohibited for import to Russia. The prohibitions apply to those countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia. According to the statement, the ban is valid for one year.
Russia is the EU’s largest fruit and vegetable buyer, with EU vegetable exports to Russia totalling more than 2 billion euros annually.
It's not known yet whether Finnish foodstuffs will be on the banned list. According to the Finnish-Russian Chamber of Commerce, Russia is Finland’s largest trading partner, with more than 5.4 billion euros of exports from Finland to Russia in 2013. Of that 5.4 billion, 7.5 per cent was comprised of food and drink.