Ukraine from May 20 will ban the transit of food products through its border with the Transnistrian segment. The announcement was made in the meeting of the Security Council in Tiraspol by the Transnistrian minister of agriculture Efimii Covali, who made reference to a letter issued by the State Veterinary and Phytosanitary Service of Ukraine, IPN reports.

According to the Transnistrian press, the letter says the transit of food products through the Ukrainian border with the Transnistrian segment will be allowed only with the consent of the National Food Safety Agency of Chisinau. The initiator of the ban, according to the letter, is the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the decision is aimed at contributing to the localization of dangers threatening national security.

The minister of agriculture also said that 83 applications for authorizing the transit of the Ukrainian border by phytosanitary products have been submitted during the first several months of this year alone. More than 6,000 tonnes of food products have crossed the border with Ukraine trough the Transnistrian segment so far this year.

When the ban is imposed, the Transnistrian business entities will have to keep their products at a special storehouse for money. “Given that we depend on foreign producers, the problem of food security becomes very serious,” stated Efimii Covali