Russia has slapped a temporary restriction on the import of apples, pears, table grapes, oranges, lemons and mandarins from Argentina, according to reports in the Argentinean press, in a move which has angered the Argentinean fresh produce industry.
The block, which comes into force on 1 October, is down to a tightening of Russia’s phytosanitary regulations in terms of the maximum level of pesticide residues permitted on fruit imports.
Argentina’s agriculture and food certification and quality agency (Senasa) said in a statement it is in contact with the Russian phytosanitary authorities in order to “overcome the situation” by establishing an agreement which will maintain the flow of Argentinean fresh produce into Russia.
“The production of fresh produce in Argentina complies with both national and international standards in terms of food safety,” Senasa explained. “Russian regulations are now more demanding than the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the European Union.”
The move has caused great concern for suppliers in Argentina’s leading production regions including Río Negro, Mendoza and San Juan where income is based heavily on the fruit export trade with key markets such as Russia.
“The impact on the coming season will be severe because the market panorama is becoming distorted and prices could fall significantly,” Juan Accatino, Production Minister in the region of San Juan, told daily La Gaceta.
According to Mr Accatino, Russia is the second-largest international market for San Juan’s table grape industry, while Río Negro exports 28 per cent of its topfruit crop to Russia.
