Russia might limit import of fruit from Serbia due to infected fruits?

The Russian phytosanitary inspection Rosselkhoznadzor might limit the import of fruit from Serbia, as several cases of infected fruits have been discovered lately.

As Rosselkhoznadzor reported, the parasite in question is Grapholitha molesta.

It is said that 12 cases of infection by this parasite were discovered in series of nectarines, plums and peaches from August till September 2017.

– Keeping in mind the importance of securing the phytosanitary safety of Russia, Rosselkhoznadzor believes that it is necessary for the joint monitoring of the products controlled during the import to Russia to continue and will be forced to take measures towards limiting the import of products originating in Serbia – the press release says, as reported by Beta.

Following this, the Ministry of Agriculture of Serbia reacted by saying that the export of Serbian products to the Russian market is not limited and that “excellent cooperation has been achieved with the competent Russian institutions in the past period”.

– A constant growth of the export of agricultural and food products, especially fruit and vegetables, to the market of the Russian Federation is a confirmation of the good cooperation. In the first eight months (January-August) of 2017, the export of vegetables from Serbia to Russia was 22% higher than in the same period in 2016, whereas the export of fruit was higher by 10%. In August, we had around 1,200 shipments. Regarding the said 12 shipments, we are communicating with our colleagues from the competent Russian institution on a daily basis and we will inform them of the results of the analysis of the fruit in question. Of course, if there’s need for it, the inspectors of Rosselkhoznadzor are welcome to Serbia at any moment to perform all the necessary analyses together with the Serbian colleagues – the press release says.

– Minister of Agriculture Branislav Nedimovic will take part in a session of a mixed commission next week in Moscow, where he will discuss all the issues with the highest Russian officials, including the Russian Minister of Agriculture Aleksandr Tkachov. The Russian Federation is one of Serbia’s two biggest priorities in the export of agricultural and food products – the press release adds.

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

Russian phytosanitary inspection

Rosselkhoznadzor

export to Russia

export of fruit to Russia

Grapholitha molesta

plums

nectarines

peaches

export of peaches

export of plums

export of nectarines

phytosanitary inspection

phytosanitary control

phytosanitary supervision

Branislav Nedimovic