Nine Moldovan businesses will not be able to export apples to Russia for a period. They had been warned for the third time by Russia's Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision for exceeding the allowed amount of chemicals when treating the apples. Constantin Rotaru, the head of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry's press office, stated for Info-Prim Neo that Agriculture Minister Vasile Bumacov in February will pay a working visit to Moscow, where he will raise the issue of apple export. The nine companies are: SRL “Diaconu Lux”, Chisinau, “Turcan Iurie”, Hristici, Soroca; “Donprodcom”, Donduseni; “Geurcom”, Edinet; “Extraructrans”, Orhei; “Marvas-Grup”, Hadarauti, Ocnita; “Solotrans-Agro”, Chisinau; “Paller Grup”, Chisinau, and “Bastina”, Chisinau. There are 170 exporters of fruit and vegetables in Moldova, 90% of which export apples. In 2010, the export of fruit to Russia was 254,000 tonnes, up 167,000 tonnes compared with 2009.