Ukraine's agricultural exports to Russia down 72.9 pct in first 10 months of 2015

Ukraine's agricultural exports to Russia plunged 72.9 percent year-on-year in January-October 2015 to 253.8 million U.S. dollars, Ukrainian First Deputy Agriculture Minister Yaroslav Krasnopolskyi said here Friday.

"The supplies of condensed milk, eggs, cereal grains, oilseeds, sugar confectionery, tobacco and tobacco substitutes from Ukraine to Russia have been completely ceased," Krasnopolskyi said, while speaking in the parliament.

He said that Russia's share in Ukraine's agricultural exports has fallen to 2.2 percent in January-October 2015 from 6.7 percent in the same period of the previous year.

"Thus, we can see that Ukrainian businesses are preparing for possible Russian food embargo," Krasnopolskyi said.

Last week, Moscow said it would slap a ban on food imports from Ukraine starting from Jan. 1, 2016, when the economic part of Kiev's European Association Agreement comes into force.

"Since Ukraine joined economic and financial sanctions against the Russian Federation, we have decided to introduce protective measures by imposing a food embargo," said Russia's Economic Development Minister Aleksey Ulyukaev.

In August, Moscow also warned that it may impose an embargo on Ukrainian food to protect the Russia's market from the illegal supply of banned European Union products that will became available in Ukraine once the free trade agreement between Ukraine and the 28-member bloc takes effect.

The Ukrainian government has estimated potential losses for the country's economy from the embargo at about 600 million dollars per year.

Last year, Ukraine's earnings from agricultural exports to Russia fell by one third to 983 million dollars. Endit