Russia lifts ban on tomato imports for 126 Azerbaijani enterprises
By Ayya Lmahamad
Russia’s agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has lifted the ban on tomato imports from 126 Azerbaijani enterprises, Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency has reported.
Russia lifted the ban on tomatoes imports for 30 more tomatoes-producing enterprises earlier this week following video inspections that revealed that tomatoes were not infected with moth.
Currently, the export potential of enterprises that are allowed to export tomatoes is 288,414 tons, which amounts to 160.2 percent of the volume of tomato products exported to Russia in 2020.
Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency and relevant agencies are taking joint measures to lift restrictions on the tomatoes and apple export from Azerbaijan to Russia.
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.
In the list of Azerbaijan’s non-oil exports last year tomatoes ranked second, accounting for $201.4 million.
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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad
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