Ukraine in 2019 increased potato imports, mainly from Russia, by 43 times, to a record high 250,000 tonnes.
Ukrainian Deputy Minister for Development of Economy, Trade and Agriculture Taras Vysotskyi says the ministry plans to ban imports of potatoes from Russia as a tool to support Ukrainian potato growers. “We’ve discussed tools to support domestic potato processing sector. These are some of them that will be applied, namely the ban on imports of potatoes from Russia, consultations provided by the phytosanitary service, and the introduction of state support for processing sector,” he wrote on Facebook on September 15, following a meeting with representatives of the potato industry.