Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Russia’s agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has lifted the ban on the imports of tomatoes grown in Azerbaijan for 15 more enterprises, Russian media has reported.

The decision comes in force starting from January 1, 2021.

"The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance informs of the removal of temporary restrictions on the supply of tomatoes from 15 Azerbaijani enterprises located in areas where there were no detections of the South American tomato moth to Russia from January 1, 2021, in accordance with the information provided and under the guarantees of the competent authority of Azerbaijan," the message reads.

Earlier, Rosselkhoznadzor allowed import of tomatoes from 17 other Azerbaijani enterprises.

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 during the period of January-November 2020 with a trade turnover of $2.4 billion. Export to Russia amounted to $644.6 million, while import to $1.7 billion.

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Ayya Lmahamad is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @AyyaLmahamad

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