The European Commission is expected to intervene in EU agriculture following Moscow’s food embargo in retaliation to western sanctions against Moscow. Agricultural officials from the 28 EU member states held emergency talks on Thursday to agree to introduce emergency measures to help farmers whose perishable fruit and vegetables have been hurt the most.

Commissioner Dan Ciolos chaired the meeting and said that the current situation is “exceptional” and requires faster and better access to market data, sextor by sector. “That is why we are putting in place as of today a reinforced market monitoring mechanism to which all member states will contribute. Meetings with member states will take place on a weekly basis, for a period as long as necessary,” he said.

A spokesman from the Directorate of Agricultural and Rural Development for the EC said measures would be proposed within the coming days and may even include the free distribution of vegetables to charity.

“Perishable vegetables are the sectors where the impact is the most urgent – we are in season for these products, and suddenly a market has been lost,” the spokesperson said.

The bloc has an emergency fund of some 420 million euros to compensate producers for sudden market distortions following the reform of the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy completed in 2013 and is expected to tap into this during the current crisis.

German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine said that European producers are dependant on the Russian market for peaches whereas Russia’s imports are comprised 78% from European products. The newspaper points to concern that third countries might step in and sell their produce to Russia, a matter of concern for Brussels.