The amount of deals signed between Russian and European companies during International Green Week Berlin is expected to fall by almost half year-on-year, news agency ITAR-TASS reported.

Photo: International Green Week

While the drop is significant, Russian Agriculture Minister Nikolay Fyodorov said 14 agreements were set to be signed with a value of €102 million (US$117 million), the story reported.

The event is the world's largest agricultural fair attracting around 400,000 visitors each January, while the minister said Russia was represented by 15 regions and 170 companies.

He said one of the biggest project deals would be an agreement to build two plants to manufacture canned and frozen fruits and vegetables, as well as processed tomato products in Russia's Rostov region, the story reported.

ITAR-TASS said the project would be worth €80 million (US$92.4 million) between Semikarakorsk Canning Plant talian company Zanichelli Meccanica S.p.A.

German Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt met with Fyodorov during the event for talks, and both representatives emphasized their willingness to work toward a normalization of relations despite existing sanctions on Russia and the world's largest country's ban on EU food imports.

Schmidt said while there was no possibility of resolving the two countries' general political difficulties during the event, once a positive development in relations is seen the two sides would be able to move very quickly to intensify cooperation and improve trade.

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