Russia expresses concern over food safety; warns Pakistan of rice import ban
Russia warned Pakistan of banning rice imports from the country again after detecting the presence of a quarantine organism in a recent shipment.
Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (FSVPS) issued a notification, earlier this month, regarding violations of international and Russian phytosanitary requirements over a shipment of rice imported from Pakistan which contained the ‘Megaselia scalaris‘ fly, the Dawn reported.
It has asked the Pakistani Embassy in Russia to order an immediate investigation into the matter, as well as seeking such violations not occur again in the future and the relevant phytosanitary standards be maintained for trade in agricultural commodities.
The Pakistani mission has sent an English translation of the Russian authority’s letter to the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) in the Ministry of Food Security and other government offices concerned, seeking a prompt investigation and sharing of the report to avoid any ban on rice exports.
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