Russian Rosselkhoznadzor federal service bans import of 20 tons of apples from Moldova

Chisinau, 7 December /MOLDPRES/ - The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) has banned the import of about 20 tons of apples from Moldova, the Federal Service informed in a press release.  

“Following the carrying out of a phytosanitary quarantine control at the international customs checkpoint Krupets from the Russian Kursk region, specialists of the Rosselkhoznadzor Department detected grubs of oriental fruit moth (Grapholitha molesta Busck) in a consignment of 19,755 tons of apples delivered from Moldova to a limited company, SILT, from the Moscow region,” the communiqué reads.    

Rosselkhoznadzor also said that the import had been banned in line with the legislation in force in the field of plants’ quarantine and in order to prevent the spread of pests on the territory of Russia.   

This is the eighth bunch of apples and plums prohibited on the Russian market, after, in early last August, 19.7 tons of Moldovan plums were stopped at the Krupets customs checkpoint. In all cases, the Russian federal service said that the oriental fruit moth had been discovered. The entrance of 197.6 tons of fruits was banned on the Russian market in all.   

The director general of Moldova’s National Food Safety Agency (ANSA), Gheorghe Gaberi, has said that the consignments of apples and plums returned so far from Russia, on grounds that the oriental fruit moth would have been detected in them, which is reason for quarantine in Russia, were checked in Moldova, with no non-compliances discovered. At the same time, the ANSA head noted that, although hundreds of thousands of tons had been delivered to the European Union’s market, no pretention of non-compliance was received. 

(Reporter V. Bercu, editor M. Jantovan)