Russia warns of more fish import restrictions on Armenia

Russia will expand restrictions on fish imports from Armenia if veterinary risks are identified, the head of Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries, Ilya Shestakov, has stated.

He said Armenia accounted for a fairly large share of trout imports, and as far as supplying the domestic market is concerned, this will not have any impact, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

“We have sufficient domestic trout production, and imports can be replaced by supplies from other countries, including Türkiye,” he noted.

According to him, Russia has already introduced restrictions on supplies of live fish from Armenia. Armenia also exports chilled fish to Russia.

Earlier, Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor banned imports of flowers from Armenia from May 22.

It subsequently introduced temporary restrictions on imports of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, leafy greens and strawberries from May 30; stone fruits and fresh grapes from June 2; and pome fruits, eggplants, potatoes and dried fruits from June 3.

In addition, Rosselkhoznadzor said Armenia must suspend certification of live fish and fish products intended for export to Russia from June 2.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov