From Monday, 29 companies in New Zealand are allowed to supply dairy product ingredients to Russia, a statement of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Rosselkhoznadzor said.
“Rosselkhoznadzor has decided to remove temporary restrictions on deliveries of a number of dairy products from 29 companies in New Zealand,” the watchdog said. The regulator said it made the decision on August 17 after studying the date provided by the veterinary service of New Zealand, Tass reported.
The list of ingredients permitted for import includes water free butter fat, whey protein concentrate and milk protein concentrate, which are in high demand and are not produced in Russia, according to the statement.
Rosselkhoznadzor decided to limit the supply of all dairy products from New Zealand to Russia in August 2013 after botulinum toxin was detected in dairy products of a number of local companies.
Meanwhile, the list of western products on Russia’s retaliatory import ban has become longer and increasingly bizarre, with Polish sprats and X-ray machines on the list of items facing the chop.
In response to western sanctions imposed on Russia for its annexation of Crimea last spring and role in the simmering separatist conflict in Ukraine, Moscow sought to get equal by banning foreign food imports from various European Union countries, Canada, Norway, Australia and the US.
In turn, Russia has been keen to promote home-grown produce against a backdrop of increasingly acrimonious relations with the West.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced that four more countries–Iceland, Liechtenstein, Albania and Montenegro–would be added to the list of countries whose meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetable products are banned.
