Russia may ban import of vegetable products from Tajikistan

DUSHANBE, November 21, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Rosselkhoznadzor (Russia’s agency for Farm Produce Supervision) threatens to impose a temporary ban on vegetable imports from Tajikistan.

Russian news agency, RIA Novosti, reports Rosselkhoznadzor (Russia’s agency for farm produce supervision) has called on Tajikistan’s Ministry of Agriculture to bring its farm produce deliveries to Russia into compliance with Russian and international phytosanitary requirements; otherwise, Moscow may impose a temporary ban on import of all types of vegetable products from Tajikistan into Russia.   

“In order to avoid imposing the temporary ban on import of all types of vegetable products from Tajikistan into Russia, Rosselkhoznadzor has sent a letter to the State Inspectorate for Phytosanitation and Quarantine within the Ministry of Agriculture of Tajikistan, asking to launch probe into cases of violation of phytosanitary requirements and introduce measures against officials who have made these violations as well as to take measures to ensure observance of international and Russian phytosanitary requirements while delivering quarantined products to Russia,” the letter said.

Regular cases of violation of international and Russian phytosanitary requirements evoke serious concern of Rosselkhoznadzor, the letter noted.

We will recall Russian officials have also threatened to impose a temporary ban on the use of labor migrants from Tajikistan for medical reasons.

Russia's chief sanitary inspector Gennady Onishchenko said on November 14 that many labor migrants from Tajikistan have recently been diagnosed with HIV and tuberculosis.  He did not explain the circumstances under which the Tajiks were tested for the two conditions.  Onishchenko just said that a possible solution in that case was a full ban on the use of labor migrants from Tajikistan until at least minimal healthcare is created there.

These developments have arisen after a Tajik court sentenced two pilots of Rolkan Investment Ltd to 8 ½ years in prison each for illegal border crossing, smuggling and violation of aviation regulations.