The Russian phytosanitary service Rozzelkhoznadzor has intercepted various batches of fruit and vegetables in the past week. Dependent on the country of origin, the products were either destroyed or not allowed to pass the border. There was contact with Sudanese authorities about the remarkable increase in volume of Sudanese products imported into Russia as well.
On 17 March, upon inspection of two large vehicles from Belarus on the motorway from Minsk, 40 tonnes of illegal products were discovered. The products involved were courgettes, pomegranates and apples from Turkey and Poland. The countries of origin were mentioned on the labels. Upon further inspection, the service also discovered Western Flower Thrips in the shipment. The products were thrown in a refuse container.
Oranges refused
In the port of Novorossiysk, Mediterranean fruit fly was discovered in a shipment of 26 tonnes of oranges from Egypt. It is the second time this year that the fruit fly was found on oranges from Egypt with a total volume of almost 79 tonnes in this port. To prevent the fruit fly getting a hold on the Russian sector, the entire batch was denied entry to Russia. A batch of 13 tonnes of bell peppers from Israel was also denied entry to the port. Upon inspection, it turned out that the shipment was infected with Western Flower Thrips. The bell peppers were also denied entry into Russian territory.
Fruit destroyed
During an inspection of wholesalers in the Krasnodar region on 16 and 17 March, the inspection found proof of trade in illegal products. In total, 3,350 kilograms of banned fruit and vegetables were discovered at various locations in the district, including 180 kilograms of Turkish tomatoes, 520 kilograms of Turkish pomegranates, 1,149 kilograms of Polish pears and 1,501 kilograms of Polish apples. Required phytosanitary certificates were missing for these products. The products were destroyed.
Tomatoes returned to sender
On 18 March, in the Orenburg region, 14.3 tonnes of tomatoes from Kazakhstan were intercepted. The enclosed phytosanitary certificate was invalid, and the data on these documents did not match the transport documents. The tomatoes were sent back to Kazakhstan. Since the beginning of this year, 14 vehicles were stopped and a total of 151.7 tonnes of product from Kazakhstan was intercepted, because documents were not in order.
On that same day, a total of 905 kilograms of banned products was found in that same region. The batch consisted of 210 kilograms of Polish apples, 320 kilograms of Turkish pears and 375 kilograms of Turkish tomatoes. The countries of origin were confirmed by the labels on the packaging. The entire batch was destroyed and processed into biogas.
Sudanese agreements
As a result of the remarkable increase of Sudanese fruit and vegetables imported via Belarus, the Russian inspectors entered into talks with the Sudanese government. In consultation with the Sudanese authorities, a list was composed of regulated products, which can be shipped to Russia via Belarus under certain conditions. The list consists of onions, beans, bell peppers, peppers. mango, banana, watermelon, melon, lemon, grapefruit, figs, basil and fennel.