Russia bans imports of sunflower and corn seeds from four countries

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s agricultural regulator has banned imports of sunflower and corn seeds from companies in Chile, France, Hungary and Turkey, it said on Thursday, in line with Moscow’s policy of reducing dependence on seed imports. Russia has become a major agricultural exporter over the past decade and is striving to become a global agricultural superpower. However, it remains dependent on seed imports, mainly from Western countries. In November, Russia’s agriculture ministry said it planned to gradually reduce seed imports from Western countries. The national food security strategy calls for domestically produced seeds to make up 75 percent of total demand, and while the figures vary depending on the type of seed, they are significantly below that target. The smallest share is domestically produced beet seeds, at 8 percent. The watchdog attributed the ban on one company in each of the four countries to the discovery of pests such as sunflower phomopsis, corn leaf spot ...