The European Commission said on Friday that it extended for another year the safety net measures for the fruit and vegetables sector of the EU affected by the Russian ban on food imports.

The safety net measures were introduced in 2014 in response to the Russian ban on imports of EU fruit and vegetables and were extended a year ago. Now, they are being extended until the end of June 2017, the Commission said in a statement.

The measures aim to alleviate market pressure for the fruits and vegetables that were previously exported to Russia. More than 1.13 million tons of fruits and vegetables covered by a EU aid of almost EUR 280 M have benefited from the safety net measures since Moscow banned food importsfrom the bloc in August 2014 in response to Western sanctions imposed over Moscow’s support for Ukrainian rebels.

The measures consist mainly of withdrawals of produce for free distribution to charities and for processing into animal feed, composting, and distillation. In addition, EU farmers have increased food exports to third countries by 4% in value, compared with the previous year, but the impact of redirecting exports has been uneven across countries and sectors, the Commission said.