Russia temporarily bans fruit, vegetable imports from Ukraine

MOSCOW - Russia will impose a temporary ban on fruit and vegetable imports from Ukraine from Wednesday, Russia's agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said on Tuesday.

The ban is the latest trade barrier erected by Russia in a trade and sanctions war linked to international tensions over Ukraine.

In a statement, Rosselkhoznadzor said that it was imposing the ban because of a lack of labelling, which it said was evidence that the goods were not of Ukrainian origin.

It said that a possible explanation for this was that goods from the European Union were being imported through Ukraine to evade Russian counter-sanctions against the EU.

It added that the situation was complicated by the presence of pests on products entering from Ukraine, including apple moth and Californian thrips.

In August, Russia introduced a sweeping ban on most food imports from the EU in retaliation for EU sanctions on Russia stemming from its actions in Ukraine.

Rosselkhoznadzor said that the ban on imports from Ukraine would apply to all fruit and vegetable products subject to quarantine regulations.