Minister of Trade and Industry Tariq Qabeel said that the Russian authorities have agreed to lift the ban on Egypt exports of potatoes from 8 agricultural areas and to allow the export of these crops starting from June 6.
The minister said in a statement on Saturday that the decision comes as a culmination of the negotiations held in Russia on the sidelines of the activities of the Egyptian-Russian Joint Committee held in Moscow in late May, during which both parties discussed the restrictions on the export of Egyptian potatoes from the eight regions since 2015.
Qabeel pointed out that the Egyptian Commercial Office in Moscow had arranged a meeting between head of the Central Department of the Egyptian Quarantine Ahmed Al-Attar and officials of the Federal Veterinary And Phytosanitary Monitoring Service of Russia.
During the meeting, officials discussed the technical problems that hinder the process of agricultural exports and imports between the two countries, including potatoes.
For his part, head of the Egyptian trade office in Moscow Nasser Hamed, said that the Russian side issued its decision after the Egyptian side supplied it with the results of the potato quality analysis, which were made at the request of the Russian side about the brown rot in some farms from which potatoes were exported to Russia.
The statement said that the Federal Veterinary And Phytosanitary Monitoring Service of Russia reviewed the procedures for the cultivation and export of Egyptian potatoes assuring that they meet the requirements and specifications of Russian authorities.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
