Russian phytosanitary service Rosselkhoznadzor has lifted the ban on tomatoes imports for four more Azerbaijani enterprises. In order to remove the existing import restrictions, Rosselkhoznadzor, collaborating with the Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency, conducted video inspections of Azerbaijani enterprises to determine whether they were infected with tomato moth.
Up until now, the Russian authority lifted the ban on import for 74 tomatoes and 46 apples producers companies operating in Azerbaijan. Currently, the export potential of enterprises that are allowed to export tomatoes is 229,218 tons, which is 127.3 percent of the 179,956 tons of tomato products exported to Russia last year.
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. The Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency and relevant agencies are taking joint measures to lift restrictions on the tomatoes and apple export from Azerbaijan to Russia, with the former being a major supplier of fruits and vegetables to Russia. The country ranked first in supplies of fresh and chilled tomatoes.
Source: azernews.az