By Azernews

By Ayya Lmahamad

Azerbaijan continues to take relevant measures to lift restrictions on the tomato and apple exports to Russia.

In this regard, Russia’s agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor has lifted the ban on the tomato exports for three more Azerbaijani enterprises since December 17.

The decision was made based on the results of the quarantine phytosanitary examination of samples of products selected during the joint video inspections, and under the guarantees of Azerbaijan’s Food Safety Agency.

So far, relevant Russian authority lifted the export ban for 214 tomato producer companies and one cooperative, as well as for 79 apple producer companies, operating in Azerbaijan.

Rosselkhoznadzor banned the export of Azerbaijani tomatoes and apples on December 10, citing the necessity to “prevent the import and spread” of pesticides to Russia.

From June 15 Russia authorized imports of Azerbaijani tomatoes and apples by railway. Moreover, transportation of apples and tomatoes from Azerbaijan to Russia via container will start as of October 1.

Azerbaijan is a major supplier of fruits and vegetables to Russia. The country ranked first in supplies of fresh and chilled tomatoes. In the list of Azerbaijan’s non-oil exports last year tomatoes ranked second, accounting for $201.4 million.