© Reuters / Mike Blake
The list of banned products will be published on Thursday, he added.
EU fruits and vegetables also fall under the ban, Alekseyenko added. A source told Itar-Tass that dairy products from the EU will be included on the list, as well.
"The list includes milk powder, butter and cheese," the source said, adding that this also includes mass production cheeses.
© AFP Photo / Narinden Nanu
By the end of 2013, the major importers of dairy products to Russia were Finland, with 17,8000 tons worth US$19.6 million dollars; Estonia, with 8,300 tons worth $19.4 million; Poland, with 3.8 tons worth $8 million; and Lithuania, with three tons worth $7.3 million, according to Russia's Federal Customs Service.
Alekseyenko stated that many countries that did not sanction Moscow are ready to increase their exports of similar products to Russia.
On Wednesday, Russian officials agreed to hold consultations with representatives from Ecuador, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina on expanding food imports from those countries, according to Rosselkhoznadzor. The talks have been set for Thursday.
Meanwhile, Russia's agricultural watchdog has permitted imports from more than 90 Brazilian suppliers of animal origin products. The list comprises of 31 suppliers of beef by-products, 27 suppliers of poultry, 27 suppliers of beef, four suppliers of pork and pork by-products, and three suppliers of milk and dairy products.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree imposing a one-year ban on certain agricultural produce, foods, and raw materials from countries that have sanctioned Russia. The government was then tasked to come up with a list of imports to be halted.
This came as a retaliatory measure to the several rounds of sanctions imposed by the US and EU on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine. Last week, the EU implemented its harshest restrictions so far, targeting Russia's financial, energy, and defense sectors. The sanctions hit five Russian banks, including the country's largest, Sberbank. In addition, the EU introduced an embargo on the import and export of arms and related materials to and from Russia.
Russia - and possibly other countries bordering it along with other BRICS nations - can harm the economies of those countries imposing sanctions at least as much as they harm Russia, on top of those losses incurred by american and european sanctions themselves. It's a losing game for the US, UK and EU countries, even before Russian turns off energy supplies.
Russia will let that sink in for a couple of months, until the autumn looms, and then start restricting all the gas and oil deliveries to EU countries. It will be a very bitterly cold winter in Europe if the EU doesn't come to its senses and back off. Russia can quickly throw europe into a financial recession, because all of the alternative sources of energy will be much more expensive.
The anglo-american imperial hegemonists are raising into a full house with a busted flush.