EU approves increase in tariffs on Russian grain imports effective July

The European Union has approved an increase in tariffs on Russian grain imports to limit the Kremlin's revenues and prevent destabilisation of the region's agricultural sector. Source: Bloomberg Details: The tariffs, also applicable to Belarusian grain, will come into effect on 1 July, said EU trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis.

The official noted that EU ministers have also decided to combat illegal Russian exports of stolen Ukrainian grain to EU markets.

"The regulation increases duties on cereals, oilseeds and derived products from Russia and Belarus to a point that will in practice halt imports of these products," the EU said in a statement on Thursday. Last year, Russia exported 4.2 million tonnes of grains and oilseeds to the bloc, but this amount is a small fraction of total EU imports. Background: The ministers of agriculture of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Czechia have urged the European Commission to ban grain imports from Russia and Belarus to the European Union.

Imports of grain from Russia and Belarus to Lithuania have virtually ceased due to tighter controls, but the volume of transit shipments to other EU countries has increased.

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