Russia has announced a total restriction on the import of carnations from Ecuador, after on Saturday, February 3, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of Russia (Rosselkhoznadzor) indicated that they have detected a growing number of cases of violation of the requirements of the Eurasian Economic Union, after supposedly detecting pests in shipments of flowers of Ecuadorian origin.
Russia imposes total import restriction on carnations from Ecuador
Posted On 06 Feb 2024
Moscow (Russian Federation), 01/31/2024 – Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with activists of his election campaign in Moscow, Russia, on January 31, 2024. The Russian presidential elections will be held from January 15 to 17 March 2024.
With this argument, the Russian Federal Service has asked the authorized bodies of the Netherlands, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania (from where flowers enter Russia), to stop the certification of Ecuadorian carnations as of February 9, a week before Valentine’s Day.
If these countries continue to supply infected flowers to Russia, the Rosselkhoznadzor will be forced to move to the next stage of introducing restrictive measures against other types of flowers.
Supposedly, the pest detected is the Frankliniella occidentalis insect, classified as a closed ground insect, capable of damaging a total of 244 species of plants from 62 families, including fruits and vegetables, which can cause 100% loss. of crops.
The announcement regarding the restriction on carnations occurred the day after the export permit of five Ecuadorian banana companies was suspended.
Scrap?
The restriction of exports of bananas and Ecuadorian flowers has coincided with the condemnation of the spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, María Zajárova, of the decision of the Ecuadorian president, Daniel Noboa, to deliver Russian military material to the United States.
«If it were scrap metal, as they call it in Ecuador, Washington would hardly propose its exchange for modern equipment, by the way, for a fairly high amount. Let’s hope that Quito understands it that way ,” he said.
Zakharova recalled that all partners of the Russian military industry are aware that the contracts establish the obligation not to deliver such equipment to third parties without Moscow’s consent.
“Such a hasty decision was adopted by the Ecuadorian side under serious pressure from interested figures from abroad,” he said.
On January 30, Noboa insisted that the Russian material that his country will send to the United States is “scrap.”
«They (Russia) allege that it is war material, that it is war equipment. “We have verified that it is junk,” she said.
And he pointed out: «We are not going to cut off relations with Russia. “I think that the position they are maintaining is not an appropriate position, since we are also experiencing a war here. “
“And if they, of course, want to help, I hope they do,” concluded the president who has declared an internal armed conflict against the criminal gangs whom he calls terrorists.
Fedexpor
Following the announcement by the Russian Service, the Ecuadorian Federation of Exporters (Fedexpor), its associated unions and companies reported this Sunday that they are closely monitoring the trade situation with Russia in light of the phytosanitary alerts issued by the Russian authorities.
This, in order to have all the evaluation elements that allow maintaining the commercial flow with that market.
Fedexpor confirmed that the products of the Ecuadorian exportable offer “meet the sanitary and phytosanitary quality standards” required by the destination markets.
«We will maintain a thorough evaluation of this situation. At the same time, we are in direct contact with the national authorities, so that it is possible to clarify the strict compliance with the requirements that Ecuador grants in phytosanitary matters to the products that are sent to all markets,” he indicated in a statement.
Presence of humpback flies
The Russian phytosanitary inspection ( Rosselkhoznadzor ) indicated last Friday that a request was sent to the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Ecuador, Franklin Palacios, to temporarily suspend, starting Monday, the export certification of bananas from several companies due to the supposed presence of humpback flies.
«The cessation of certification is the responsibility of the Ecuadorian side. Without the certificate, Ecuadorian exporters cannot send their productions,” the Rosselkhoznadzor press service explained to the Russian agency Interfax.
According to the Russian phytosanitary authorities, “in the event that the Ecuadorian side does not take effective measures and the presence of said pest continues to be detected in bananas, Rosselkhoznadzor will be forced to move to the next phase of restrictive measures.”
The humpback fly (Megaselia scalaris Loew) is a pest that affects a large number of food products and is also a transmitting agent of cholera.
Fedexpor noted that Russia is the first destination country for banana and plantain exports (second destination if the European Union is counted as a single destination).
Between January and November 2023, 20% of exported bananas and plantains, worth $690 million, headed to Russia.
