Russia prohibits imports of ready-made fish, seafood from ‘unfriendly’ nations

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - The Russian Agriculture Ministry introduced restrictions Tuesday on imports of ready-made fish and seafood from "unfriendly" states.

"The refusal of imports from the European Union, the USA, Norway will free up market niches that will be filled by domestic producers whose capacities allow them to fully meet the needs of the domestic market in such products," it said.

The government also increased rates of import customs duties on wines from "unfriendly" countries from 12.5% to 20% until the end of 2023, the Economic Development Ministry said in a statement.

Russian manufacturers are actively increasing the supply of their products to the domestic market and the protective measures will help them to develop production capacities, it said.

In March 2022, the Russian government listed countries it said were "unfriendly toward Russia, Russian companies, and citizens."

It includes those that have been imposing sanctions against Russia for more than 10 years.