Saudi Arabia is introducing measures similar to Russia's to ban the import of European vegetables that may pose a threat to the population. The country's Agriculture Minister Fahd bin Abdulrahman Balganem said that the ban will remain in effect until the exact source of contamination of vegetables is clarified, Al Jazeera reports.

According to experts, the ban on the import of vegetables will not have a significant impact on the situation in the kingdom, since the main exporters of products are Asian and African producers. It should be noted that Qatar, Lebanon and Russia previously introduced a ban on the import of vegetables from the EU.

Lebanon intends to compensate for the shortage of vegetable products by increasing purchases from Jordan and Syria. Qatar previously refused to import Spanish and German cucumbers, lettuce and tomatoes.

In Russia, the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) introduced a temporary ban on the import of fresh vegetables into the country from all EU countries on June 2, 2011. Until this day, only products from Spain and Germany were not allowed to cross the border. Vegetables grown in Europe will also be removed from store shelves. This ban is being introduced in connection with the spread of intestinal infection in Europe, which has already led to the death of 22 people. On the same day, the European Commission demanded that the Russian Federation immediately lift the ban on the import of vegetables from the EU.

The Permanent Representative of Russia to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, previously expressed hope that by the time the Russia-EU summit begins on June 9-10, 2011. the issue of expert import of European vegetables into the Russian Federation will be resolved.

Saudi Arabia, following the Russian Federation, banned the import of vegetables from the EU