Moldova resumes fruits exports to Russian market

Chisinau, 12 June /MOLDPRES/ - Moldova has resumed fruit exports to Russia starting from today, under the guarantee of the National Agency for Food Safety (ANSA). The exports were unlocked after a positive review by experts of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Rosselkhoznadzor, who inspected the producers and product certification mechanisms in Moldova in late May, according to a release by ANSA.

The Russian inspection allowed the export of apples, pears, fresh quince, apricots, cherries and sour cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums and fresh Sloes. The number of companies that received the right to deliver fruits to Russia "is limited"; Grimafruct, Agrodenidan, Maidan group, Unit-Olimp, Altin Alma, Bacaian Com, Oguzagroprom, Pobeda Colhoz, as well as those from the " Grigoriopol, Dubasari, Camenca, Ribnita and Slobozia districts" were included in the list, says ANSA.

Rosselkhoznadzor gave right to export “as an experiment and is based, including, upon lack of finding proof of elements subject to phyto-sanitary quarantine in Moldovan apple export", reads the statement.

ANSA notes that the phytosanitary certification will be rigorous to ensure the reliability of Moldovan products on the Russian market.

Moscow in late last May informed that they might resume imports of cherries, plums and apricots from Moldova. The Russian side demanded data from the last three years on the production volume of fruit orchards and their phytosanitary monitoring results, and on the immediately next days, a group of inspectors visited Chisinau.

The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance banned fruit imports from Moldova on 21 June 2014. The Russian authority reasoned the decision explaining that the Moldovan producers would have violated the phytosanitary requirements. Chisinau has described this decision as political.

Previously, about 30 per cent of the country's wine exports, estimated at 35 million dollars, 93 per cent of exports of apples, estimated at 43.7 million dollars, and 80 per cent of plums exports, estimated at 21.1 million dollars, were directed to Russia.

On 11 June, the Moldovan press wrote that Rosselkhoznadzor rebutted 19.5 tons of Moldovan apples because they had not been accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate from the manufacturer. The embargo on the export of fruits was lift for only ten producing companies in February 2015, and at that time Russian officials announced that the decision was an experiment.

(Reporter V. Bercu, Editor L. Alcaza)