The European Union will tap into emergency funds to augment the price of fruit and vegetables in order to compensate farmers who were caught in Russia’s ban on importing food from the EU.
The European Commission said it would spend €125 million.
The unexpected sanctions have resulted in an oversupply. The funds will go towards buying the produce at full price from farmers, or to compensate them for not harvesting their produce.
Otherwise, the glut could serve to drive prices down.
Russia has been a key market for the eurozone. Exports to Russia have dropped by 14% in the first five months of 2014 at a cost of €5 billion, decreasing the total of €32 billion.
The Kremlin’s ban covers meat, fish, and dairy products as well as fruit and veg and extends to the EU, Canada, Australia and Norway.
The funds are coming from the EU Common Agricultural Policy’s €420 million of emergency reserves.
