Russia lifts ban on Pakistani rice and fruits import

Russia has decided to lift the ban on rice import from Pakistan, sources told Business Recorder here on Friday. They said that a Russian delegation met here with the representatives of the Ministry of Commerce and Food Ministry and agreed to lift the import ban imposed on Pakistan's rice.

Russia used to import about 0.5 million tons rice per year from Pakistan. In 2007 from November 21 to December 26, a Russian delegation visited Pakistan to review the sanitary and phyto-sanitary conditions regarding the packing and processing of the citrus fruit and mangoes to lift the ban on import of these fruits imposed by it two years ago and finally the ban has been lifted.

Similarly, the officials of Russian Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance Services (VPSS) recently visited Pakistan on April 23 to discuss plant protection and Phytosanitary issues with Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan (Reap).

"During that visit by the Russian delegation, Reap representatives told the members of the delegation that Pakistan's rice is now free of 'Khapra' beetle and asked them to conduct a survey of the processing factories to ensure that the country has observed the sanitary and phyto-sanitary conditions and the import of any commodity from Pakistan does not involve any risk at all", sources explained.

In the meeting held here on Friday, June 6, the ban imposed on the import of the other fruits and vegetables has also been removed by Russia. "Now the country will start exporting fruits, vegetables and rice again to Russia that will indeed result in earning heavy foreign exchange", sources added.