Rosselkhoznadzor bans importing stone, pome fruit from New Zealand as of Aug 22

MOSCOW. Aug 21 (Interfax) - The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) has banned the import of stone fruit and pome fruit from New Zealand into Russia as of August 22, the watchdog said in a statement.

This specifically involves products under the Foreign Economic Activity Commodity Nomenclature (FEACN) codes 0808 and 0809, which include fresh apples, pears, quince, apricots, cherries, sweet cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums, and sloe berries. The reason for the decision is the identification of the quarantine object, Monilinia fructicola (Winter) Honey, for Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) member countries.

"If the disease is introduced, then the economic damage from crop loss and measures to localize and eliminate outbreaks of a quarantine object could total up to 9 billion rubles," according to the statement.

The ban also applies to supplies of these types of New Zealand products from other countries.

Rosselkhoznadzor's press service told Interfax that Russia mainly imports apples from New Zealand, with 3,900 tonnes imported in 2022, or 0.6% of the total volume of imported apples.