Russia's Agriculture Ministry raises quota for tomato supplies from Turkey to 500,000 tonnes

MOSCOW. July 20 (Interfax) - Russia's Agriculture Ministry has raised the quota for supplies of tomatoes from Turkey by 150,000 tonnes to 500,000 tonnes, and the corresponding order has been published on the portal of legal information.

Russia imposed a quota on supplies of tomatoes from Turkey in the autumn of 2015 owing to an incident with a Russian fighter jet in skies over Syria. Russia as of January 1, 2016, banned imports of fruit and vegetables from Turkey. Supplies of tomatoes resumed on November 1, 2017, following lengthy negotiations.

A quota of 50,000 tonnes was first imposed on Turkish suppliers, and then it increased to 100,000 tonnes. It then rose to 150,000 tonnes in April 2019, to 200,000 tonnes in February 2020, to 250,000 tonnes in January 2021, to 300,000 tonnes in the spring of 2021, and to 350,000 tonnes in April 2022.