According to the State Crop Inspectorate, it is the first time when Russia bans potato imports from the whole European Union. Russian representatives argue that the sanitation standards set by the European Commission are not enough for the Russian market and the whole customs union.
According to Russian representatives, this ban will guarantee that the products sold in the Russian market are safe for the consumers because they are not infected with diseases, especially the ones that may result in the quarantine.
Russians are suspicious that one of the EU potato producers used to supply infected products to various countries till it got to the Russian market. Some argue that this is implied about the Dutch potatoes that were twice infected by serious diseases.
Such a ban on the products from the EU will be especially harmful to the Easter European countries that export most of their potatoes to the Russian market. Lithuanian producers, however, are unlikely to be extremely harmed by this as they do not export that many agricultural goods to Russia.
