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Russia mulls lifting ban on Egyptian potato imports Ban placed in June 2011 due to fears of 'brown rot' may be lifted if Russian experts are allowed to check crops in Egypt before shipment, says food watchdog
Russia's food safety watchdog is ready to lift its ban on the import of Egyptian potatoes if Russian experts are allowed to check crops before they are shipped, the country's official news agency RIA Novosti reported on Wednesday. Imports of Egyptian potatoes were placed under a ban in June 2011, with the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) claiming recent shipments were infected with brown rot, a disease which causes stunted growth of crops. "[We are] ready to lift temporary restrictions on the importation of Egyptian potatoes into Russia, if Rosselkhoznadzor experts are allowed in the territory of Egypt to exercise pre-shipment phytosanitary control of potatoes designated for the Russian market," RIA Novosti quoted the watchdog as saying. Egypt exported a total of 450,000 tonnes of potatoes to Russia in the first half of 2011, according to figures in Ahram Digital citing the Egyptian Agricultural Council. Egyptian potato exports have been hit by brown rot before.In 1997, Finland and Denmark froze their imports from Egypt, followed in 1999 by a European Union-wide ban for the same reason, according to details on Rosselkhoznadzor's website. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/39577.aspx
