Information for fruit and vegetables business in CIS
Russian growers demand total vegetable import control
The National Vegetable Producers Union operating in Russia since 2014 demands from the Russian government to establish total control over imports of vegetables.
The Russian media report that the Union addressed with a special message to Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, in which it demanded to organize total inspection of imported vegetables at the border and in retail chains.
The Union called the foreign companies the unfair competitors and stated that 20% of imported tomatoes, cucumbers and greens contain high amounts of pesticides and chemicals that increase the shelf life and reduce cost, while, according to official data, only slightly more than 1% of vegetables in retail sale do not conform to the Russian the requirements.
As a result, the Union demands from Dvorkovich to task Rospotrebnadzor, Rosselkhoznadzor and the Federal Customs Service to tighten control over import of vegetables on the subject of content of residual pesticides and agrochemicals.
Currently less than 10% of such products are inspected on the Russian border for content of agrochemicals and pesticides. The Union itself brings together 100 producers from 30 Russian regions.