Italian farmers addressed the EU government to cancel sanctions against Russia, as they had lost about 1.5 billion euros due to them.
According to the National Secretary of the Italian Confederation of Agricultural Producers, Dino Skanavino, “none of the Italian farmers interfered in the political actions and measures that have been adopted by Italian politicians in relation to the embargo against Russia. 2014 was marked by the impact of these actions, mainly this concerns production of fruits and vegetables. This direction of our agricultural industry has suffered from the Russian embargo – grapes, peaches, nectarines. Producers have experienced great difficulties in finding market outlets, because they were not ready for the closure of the Russian border to these types of products. As for 2015 and the situation in the agricultural sector, here we felt a decrease in production of fruits and vegetables directly related to the embargo.”
Skanavino says that “the situation has improved slightly compared to last year, but nevertheless we feel a serious oppression from this situation. Some businessmen, who are not included in the EU, buy our products and deliver them to Russia in turn. And of course, this has led to some reduction in our farmers' incomes. Moreover, Russian companies which are buying our products have turned away from us towards other suppliers, while our quality does not cause any doubts. I think that here we need to overcome this crisis situation as soon as possible. Agriculture is in need of open borders.”
