Russian prime minister Dmitri Medvedev on Thursday announced that Russia is banning imports of fresh produce from countries which back EU and US sanctions on Russia, including the Netherlands.

The list of produce includes fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and dairy products, news agency Reuters reports.

The move follows president Vladimir Putin’s comments on Wednesday evening that he was planning a reaction against all the countries which support sanctions against Russia.

Hard hit

The Dutch agriculture sector will be hard hit, according to press reports. However, figures from the central statistics agency CBS show that the total export of fresh produce was €78bn last year, of which €1.5bn went to Russia. That is 0.3% of gross domestic product.

Nico van Ruiten of the market gardeners’ association LTO Glaskracht told the press that the Russian ban on imports will result in the European market being flooded with produce which will cause prices to plunge.