Germany: Russia has agreed to lift an import ban imposed in late November 2004 on German plant products including grain, Germany's Agriculture Ministry said on April 11. Germany and Russia signed an agreement over the weekend after talks in Berlin with Sergei Dankvert, head of Russia's veterinary inspection service, German junior Agriculture Minister Alexander Muller said in a statement. The ban is likely to be lifted on May 1, Muller said, according to Reuters.

Russian customs authorities had banned imports of German grain, seeds, malt, hops, fruit and vegetables, in their unprocessed state, in a dispute about food safety.

13 April, 2005