EU foreign ministers have voted today to extend economic sanctions against Russia by a further six months, moving the earliest conclusion point to January 31, 2016.
The extension, agreed during a meeting of foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, carries clear implications for the continued banning of agri-food imports from the EU into Russia.
While Russia has maintained its ban on EU pigmeat since early 2014, on alleged health grounds, the more general ban on EU agri-food trade dates from early August 2014.
Although this was initially seen as a one-year measure, the Russian government has made it clear that the ban would remain in place for as long as Western sanctions existed. The end date for that now appears to have shifted to the end of January next year, at the earliest.
See AHDB Pork view of Russian market (compiled during BPEX days)