Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

Russia tightens control over Turkish food imports: Minister

MOSCOW — Russia said today (Nov 26) that it would reinforce control over Turkish food imports citing frequent violations of safety standards, as tensions surged with Ankara over the downing of a Russian warplane on the Syrian border.

The pavement in front of the Turkish Embassy is covered with shattered glass and pieces of plaster after a protest in Moscow, Russia,  Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015. Photo: AP

The pavement in front of the Turkish Embassy is covered with shattered glass and pieces of plaster after a protest in Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015. Photo: AP

Follow TODAY on WhatsApp

MOSCOW — Russia said today (Nov 26) that it would reinforce control over Turkish food imports citing frequent violations of safety standards, as tensions surged with Ankara over the downing of a Russian warplane on the Syrian border.

Some 15 per cent of Turkish agricultural produce does not meet Russian standards with levels of pesticides, nitrates and nitrites considerably above safe limits, Agriculture Minister Alexander Tkachev said.

“Taking into account repeated violations by Turkish producers of Russian norms, the Russian government has tasked (the food safety agency) Rosselkhoznadzor with reinforcing control over supplies of agricultural produce and food from Turkey,” Mr Tkachev said.

Russia will “organise additional checks at the border and at food production sites in Turkey”, he said.

Russia has found “traces of banned and harmful substances” in Turkish food products of animal origin some 40 times this year, Mr Tkachev added.

Over the past 10 months Turkey imported agricultural produce and food worth just over US$1 billion (S$1.41 billion) to Russia, down 21.2 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Turkish vegetables account for some 20 per cent of vegetables imports to Russia, said Mr Tkachev, adding that Moscow could opt to buy produce from other countries, such as tomatoes from Iran, Israel, Morocco, Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Turkey also accounts for a quarter of Russian citrus fruit imports, he said, adding that the country could switch to other producers including South Africa, China, Argentina and Georgia.

Russia also said it could redirect its Turkish exports including wheat and oil to countries in the Middle East and Africa.

Over the past 10 months, Russian exports to Turkey amounted to US$1.3 billion.

Russia is pulling out all the stops in response to NATO member Turkey shooting down its military plane.

While ruling out military retaliation against Ankara, officials have promised a barrage of economic and political measures.

President Vladimir Putin branded the incident a “stab in the back” and warned Russians against travelling to Turkey, a hugely popular tourist destination.

Yesterday, lawmakers from the Kremlin-friendly A Just Russia party introduced a bill calling for a maximum punishment of five years in jail for those who deny that the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turkey in 1915 was a genocide. AFP

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.