Azernews.Az

By Ayya Lmahamad

Russia’s agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has lifted the ban on tomato imports from eight more Azerbaijani enterprises, starting from August 10.

The decision was made based on the results of the quarantine phytosanitary examination of samples of products selected during the joint video inspections, and under the guarantees of Azerbaijan’s Food Safety Agency.

Earlier, relevant Russian authority lifted the ban on import for 187 tomato producer companies operating in Azerbaijan.

Currently, the export potential of enterprises that are allowed to export tomatoes is 329,729 tons, which amounts to 184.5 percent of the volume of tomato products exported to Russia in 2020.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency and relevant agencies are taking joint measures to lift restrictions on the tomatoes and apple export from Azerbaijan to Russia.

Thus, from June 15 Russia authorized imports of Azerbaijani tomatoes and apples by railway. Moreover, transportation of apples and tomatoes from Azerbaijan to Russia via container will start as of October 1.

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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