Gagauzia set to agree with Russia directly on supply of agricultural products

CHISINAU. Aug 11 (Interfax) - The Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia in Moldova is planning to reach a direct agreement with Russia on the supply of agricultural products, Gagauzia head Irina Vlah said.

The Executive Committee of Gagauzia discussed the ban on imports of Moldovan fruit and vegetables, imposed by Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phyto-sanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor), at a meeting on Thursday.

This is a highly unpleasant situation for Gagauzia, according to head of the Gagauzia Main Department for the Agro-Industrial Complex Andrei Dimitroglo. "The authorities of Gagauzia should independently establish relations with Rosselkhoznadzor on the basis of the earlier experience. We, the Executive Committee of Gagauzia, will reach out to Rosselkhoznadzor directly, like we did in previous years, when a similar ban was in place," he said.

Vlah tasked the department with drafting documents to be submitted to Rosselkhoznadzor. "We had a previous experience of directly requesting a commission to visit our cropland. It conducted an inspection, made an analysis and assessed the condition of our fruit and vegetables on site before deciding whether the supply to the Russian market would continue. Let us draft a document for submission to invite a commission here," she said.

Yulia Melano, advisor to the Rosselkhoznadzor head, said on Tuesday that Russia would ban the imports of Moldovan agricultural products starting on August 15. She explained the ban with "the multiple discoveries of dangerous quarantine objects in the Moldovan produce supplied to Russia."

The imports will be banned from all Moldovan regions, Gagauzia and the Chisinau and Balti municipalities, Melano said, adding that the only exception would be for Transdniestria.

Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita ordered on Wednesday that the problem of fruit and vegetable exports to Russia be resolved by the appropriate agencies.