Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed a rise in imports of Uzbek agricultural products into Russia this year. This includes a 54-fold jump in citrus exports, an industry news outlet reported.
The move comes amid a strained supply environment since counter-sanctions against EU-grown imports came into force in August, 2014, along with other countries, while the majority of Turkish products have been banned since January this year.
“Total import supplies from Uzbekistan increased by 10%, and for several other items the jump in volume was significantly more. For several vegetable varieties import volumes increased by 10 times as much; for grapes – 20 times, and for citrus fruits – 54 times more,” Putin was quoted as saying during a meeting with Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov.