Russia’s federal service for veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance Rosselhoznadzor announced that 20 tonnes of apples imported from Moldova were rejected as of a poor quality. Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Vasile Bumacov has told IPN that the Ministry is holding an inquiry to see if the quality of apples is indeed not good.

Rosselhoznadzor argued that the pesticides and nitrates contained in the Moldovan apples exceed the admissible norm. The service also rejected almost 60 tonnes of Turkish grapes, over 80 tonnes of nectarines and peaches from Spain and Greece and more than 20 tonnes of plums from Serbia.

The press reported that Rosselhoznadzor didn’t accept a large quantity of Moldovan plums for the reason that they were infected with a fruit disease. Vasile Bumacov said the Moldovan authorities weren’t officially informed about this.