Russian legal information website issued a notice on the 13th that the Russian Federal Government has decided to include salt commodities in the Russian import ban list, the decision will take effect from November 1 this year.

The latest ban covers salt commodities such as edible salt, industrial salt, sodium chloride aqueous solution and seawater, regardless of whether these substances contain other additives.

Since some countries imposed sanctions on Russia over Ukraine in recent two years, Russia has suspended imports of meat, seafood, vegetables, fruits and dairy products from relevant countries since August 2014, and the ban will continue until December 31, 2017. The ban covers countries such as Ukraine, the United States and the European Union. These countries will not be able to export salt commodities to Russia after Russia has included salt commodities in the list of import bans.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dvorkovich said on the same day that stopping importing salt from relevant countries would not lead to a shortage of salt commodities and rising prices in the Russian market. Russian producers would increase production to ensure domestic demand for salt commodities.

According to data provided by the Russian Federal Customs Administration, 49.1% of Russian imports of salt last year came from Ukrainian suppliers, about 36.7% from Belarus, and the rest from Kazakhstan, Turkey, the Netherlands and Denmark.