Russia lifts ban on tomato imports from 12 Azerbaijani enterprises
By Ayya Lmahamad
Russia’s agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has lifted the ban on the imports of tomatoes grown in Azerbaijan for 12 more enterprises, Russian media reported with the reference to the Deputy Head of the agency Anton Karmazin.
The decision to lift the ban entered into the force on December 24 after negotiations with Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency. Thus, tomatoes will be imported from Azerbaijan’s regions in which the South American moth is not detected.
"The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance informs of the removal of temporary restrictions on the supply of tomatoes from 12 Azerbaijani enterprises located in areas where there were no detections of the South American tomato moth in 2020 from December 24, 2020," he said.
Rosselkhoznadzor banned the import of Azerbaijani tomatoes and apples on December 10, citing the necessity to “prevent the import and spread” of pesticides to Russia.
Azerbaijan is a major supplier of fruits and vegetables to Russia. The country ranked first in supplies of fresh and chilled tomatoes.
Russia was Azerbaijan's third-largest trade partner, as well as the first largest trade partner among CIS countries in 2020 with a trade turnover of $2.1 billion. Export to Russia amounted to $565.5 million, while import to $1.6 billion.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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