OREANDA-NEWS. The National Union of Breeders and Seed Growers (NUSiS) came up with a proposal to limit the export of seeds to Russia. The purpose of the innovation is to get rid of import dependence on seeds.

According to the union, almost 100% of the seeds of certain crops are imported. Under the sanctions, there are risks in limiting supplies and problems with logistics, the NSSiS pointed out.

Therefore, the union proposed to introduce quotas for the import of seeds to Russia. According to NSSiS, this will help domestic seed production. In particular, only the volume of seeds that is not produced in Russia will be allowed on the market. At the same time, the quota should decrease every year.

“Now, when there is a massive suspension of the work of foreign companies and serious difficulties in gaining access to Western technologies, solutions, products, closing the Russian market from imported seeds is redundant,” said Alexei Ivanov, Director of the International Center for Competition Law and Policy of the National Research University Higher School of Economics.

Sebastien Abis, who specializes in global agriculture at the Demeter think tank, said earlier on Monday that given the need for Russian wheat in a number of countries, Moscow will certainly continue to play an important role in the international arena. According to the expert, the southwestern regions of Russia and Ukraine produce "about 15% of the total world wheat and almost 30% of its world exports."