€70 million to further support European fruit producers

On 1 July, the European Commission took exceptional measures to help producers of perishable fruits affected by the ban on imports imposed by the Russian authorities. The measures were first introduced by the Commission in the wake of the Russian import ban in August 2014 and were extended until end of June 2018.

The extended scheme is worth up to €70 million to EU fruit producers, and provides a safety net for producers who might not find a market outlet for their products as a result of the import ban. It compensates European fruit farmers who choose for example to distribute their excess products to organisations (i.e. charity, schools) or make use of it for other purposes (i.e. animal feed, composting, processing)