Growers look to make hay in Russia

Food producers from Liaozhong county in Liaoning province have reported a steep rise in orders from Russia as a result of the yearlong ban on Western goods announced in August by Moscow.

Russia has imposed the one-year embargo on meat, fish, dairy, fruit and vegetables from the EU, US, Canada, Australia and Norway in retaliation for Western sanctions over Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis.

According to the latest figures released by Liaozhong county's foreign trade and economic cooperation bureau, 30,000 metric tons of its locally grown pink Hanfu apples, for instance, worth 800 million yuan ($131 million) were included in total food orders worth 2.2 billion yuan from Russian importers in the last month.