Russia’s import ban will hit farms and jobs

Russia’s revenge move to slap sanctions on Irish food and drink imports will hit jobs and prices, farmers have warned.

The imposition of a wide-ranging ban on produce from the EU, US, and other countries by Russia, which comes in retaliation for Western sanctions against Moscow over its intervention in Ukraine, will be a particular blow to the dairy industry.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney expressed “most worry” over the impact of a €4.5m loss to cheese producers, who are heavily clustered in the Munster region, but said the agriculture sector as a whole could weather the ban.