Moscow - Russian agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor is imposing a temporary ban on shipments of monitored plant products from Ukraine starting Oct. 22, the watchdog said in a statement.
The ban also extends to transporting plant products through Ukrainian territory.
The Russian watchdog previously turned to the Ukrainian veterinary services with a request to present information by Oct. 21 on volumes of plant products harvested in Ukraine this year and on the land occupied by certain plants. The Ukrainian services were also asked to provide other guarantees on plant products originating in Ukraine and sent to Russia.
This request stems from a sharp increase in plant product shipments from Ukraine, as well as with the fact that package labels have been intentionally removed or were not present at all. Rosselkhoznadzor said this could be evidence that shipments are being made through Ukraine of plant products from EU countries banned from shipping to Russia.
The Ukrainian veterinary services have yet to respond to Rosselkhoznadzor’s requests, the Russian watchdog said.
“Shipments of products of unknown origin break both the main principles of international trade, as well as the laws of the Customs Union and of Russia,” the statement says. The situation is complicated by the fact that plant products coming from Ukraine contain substances quarantined for Russia. This includes the apple moth and the Californian thrips.
The situation with plant product shipments was discussed during a call between Rosselkhoznadzor Deputy Chief Alexey Saurin and the head of the quarantined plants division of Ukraine’s state veterinary services, Oleksiy Chelombitko.
Chelombitko said he was ready to respond to the Russian watchdog’s requests. The Ukrainian services have not received any requests by post or by email yet, however, he said, adding that Ukraine learned of the requests on Rosselkhoznadzor’s Web site.
The All-Russian Centre for Plant Quarantine, which is under Rosselkhoznadzor’s jurisdiction, will thoroughly study information from Ukraine’s State Veterinary Service when it receives it, Saurin said, adding that Rosselkhoznadzor does not have any grounds for not implementing protective measures.
Following statistical analysis, Rosselkhoznadzor has become suspicious that Ukraine is re-exporting fruits and vegetables from EU countries. In particular, shipments of apples, pears, tomatoes, cucumbers and plums have grown multifold.
In early August, Russia banned shipments of meat, milk, fish, fruits and vegetables from the EU, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Norway.
