The construction of a farm for 100,000 cows has commenced in China, Russia Today the state-funded news website reports.
The project is expected to cost one billion Yuan or €145m and it is being set up in the Chinese city of Mudanjiang, it says.
Production from the farm is to supply the Russian market, according to Zhang Chuntszyao, Chairman of the Association of Applied Economics of the Heilongjiang Province said to Interfax on Monday.
A Chinese farm, Zhongding Dairy Farming and a Russian farm, Severny Bur are both taking part in the project, Russia Today reports.
Feed for the cattle will be grown on 100,000ha of land in China and Russia, it says.
Recently, a Chinese company agreed to lease 115,000ha of land in Russia for agricultural purposes and the company is expected to invest $450m over the next 50 years in the project, it reports.
Should the first stage of the project in 2015-2018 prove successful the Chinese company, Huae Sinban, plans to lease a further 200,000ha in Russia.
Russian ban
Russia has also extended its ban on various food imports, including dairy products, from the EU, the US, Australia, Norway and Canada, it says.
The extension of the ban was in reaction to the EU extending its economic sanctions against Russia for another six months and against Crimea for another year, it says.
According to Conor Mulvihill of ICOS, the decision was taken against the backdrop of Russia’s continuing ceasefire violations in Ukraine.
The EU sanctions are to continue until January 2016.
