The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the 16^th of June in St Petersburg. However, the trade impasse is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. It is expected that EU leaders will make a decision on 28-29 June to extend economic sanctions due to the annexation of Crimea. The Russian authorities are already preparing the extension of retaliatory measures until the end of 2017. A lift in sanctions would represent some good news for dairy farmers, in terms of helping to rebalance global supply and demand, as well as improving market sentiment. However, this is unlikely in the short term at least.

By Eamonn Farrell

Agri-Food Policy Executive