Phytosanitary service expands list of Moldovan companies supplying fruits to Russian market

Chisinau, 18 September /MOLDPRES/ - The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselhoznadzor has announced on its website that interdictions on fruits supplies to the Russian market would be cancelled for another 46 Moldovan companies starting from 21 September.

Thus, over 70 Moldovan exporters have already access to the Russian fruits market. According to a press release issued by Rosselhoznadzor today, the mentioned service decided to continue the experiment as to import apricots, peaches, sour cherries, cherries, apples, pears, quinces, nectarines, plums and sloes.

The list was expanded after it was found that products supplied by Moldova comply with the quarantine and phytosanitary standards of Russia and the National Agency for Food safety assumed the commitment to guarantee the observance of these standards. At the same time, Rosselhoznadzor warns that the delivered products have to comply with the quarantine and phytosanitary standards of Russia and Customs Union.

The experiment the mentioned service speaks was launched on 12 June 2015, a year after the embargo was put. Rosselhoznadzor announced back than that it had provided the export right „as an experiment and is based inclusively on stating the lack of elements going the phytosanitary quarantine in the Moldovan products as to apple export”.

Rosselhoznadzor banned the import of Moldovan fruits on 21 June 2014. The service reasoned the decision by that the Moldovan producers had violated the phytosanitary requirements. The Moldovan authorities qualified this decision as a political one.

Previously, about 93 per cent of apple export, estimated to 43.7 million dollars, and 80 per cent of plum export, estimated to 21.1 million dollars, had been directed to the Russian market.

(Reporter V. Bercu, Editor L. Alcaza)