Russia's food safety watchdog has extended its produce import ban to two more countries based on the suspicion of irregularities.

In an announcement this week, Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) said it was placing temporary restrictions on Afghani cherries and Somali peaches and nectarines. 

The decision was made due to a lack of information on production volumes from these countries, and the fact that previously they did not historically supply these fruits.

The measures will also apply to fruits marked as from these origins coming in to Russia through third countries.

Since counter-sanctions were imposed on a wide range of Western countries in August 2014, Rosselkhoznadzor has taken all steps to prevent the illegal re-export of produce through non-sanctioned nations.

Belarus and Kazakhstan have been the most frequent sources for gray trade produce, but more recently the department's warnings extended to West Africa following the suspicion of fake certificates.

In the past week, the watchdog has seized and destroyed several illegal produce shipments, including 21 metric tons (MT) of Polish apples, 19MT of Polish cherries, 7.7MT of Ukrainian cherries and 1.6MT of Czech nectarines. Authorities also turned away 10MT of hot peppers coming through Kazakhstan due to insufficient documentation.

Photo: Rosselkhoznadzor

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