The Russian Federation imposes a new ban on the import of fruit and vegetables from the Republic of Moldova as from December 4. After Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) made the announcement, the National Food Safety Agency (NFSA) of Moldova said the decision is unfounded and will affect the national producers. The Agency noted the Russian ban doesn’t bear any relation to the quality of the Moldovan products, IPN reports.
“The Moldovan fruit and vegetables are exported to over 80 countries and the quantities of plums and apples exported to European countries have been doubled this year. No countries, except Russia, notified of particular violations. The Russian authorities’ decision runs counter to the international phytosanitary principles and is not based on any real reason,” the NFSA said in a press release.
Rosselkhoznadzor argued that a number of harmful insects, such as rapholita molesta, Frankliniella occidentalis, and Bactrocera dorsalis, which are banned in the countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, were found in Moldovan products.
“The made accusations are unfounded and hasty as Rosselkhoznadzor was informed on time about the actions taken by the Moldovan authority following the first five notices by an official response, accompanied by laboratory reports showing that there were no harmful insects in the consignments of fruits and vegetables,” said the Agency, noting that Russia’s Rosselkhoznadzor uses instruments that run counter to the sanitary and phytosanitary principles and their goal is not to protect the consumers and agriculture of the Russian Federation, but is another one.
