Russia extends import ban on Danish food products

Struggling pork industry among the worst affected

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new decree that extends the ban on imports of certain Western food products until the end of 2017.

The ban means that a number of Danish food industries, including the struggling pork sector, will continue to forego the huge Russian market for at least another 18 months.

The Russian ban came into effect in 2014 in response to the sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU and the US in connection with the annexation of Crimea that spring.

READ MORE: Russia blasts Denmark for ‘anti-Russian’ actions

Harassing the Danes
The EU previously stated that its sanctions would be dropped when Russia lived up to its cease-fire agreement that it signed with Ukraine last year.

Earlier this year, the foreign minister, Kristian Jensen, appealed to the Russian government to end the import ban, which he called “a harassment of Danish products”.