Xinhua, Vienna :
Russian import sanctions on European food products have cost the Austrian food and agricultural sector an estimated six million U.S. dollars so far, Austrian Minister of Agriculture Andrae Rupprechter said Thursday.
“This applies to goods that have been produced and labelled for the Russian market and are now in stock or already on the way to Russia,” the broadcaster ORF quoted the minister as saying.
He added that further negative impacts such as declining prices for products are not yet able to be estimated.
Experts from the European Commission and European Union member states met in Brussels Thursday to discuss ways in which damage from the sanctions could be mitigated.
Rupprechter said a list of demands from the Austrian delegation was presented at the meeting, including calls for the promotion of sales of agricultural products at places such as hospitals and schools, food assistance programs in crisis regions, and the introduction of private storage facilities for pork products along with aid in their processing.
The overall goal should be to mitigate negative impacts on the domestic economy, as well as to open an increased number of replacement markets, the minister said.
The ministry said the European Commission will carry out detailed market monitoring and analysis in the coming weeks, based on which appropriate relief methods will then be considered.
