Russia lifts import ban on Egyptian potatoes from 8 industrial areas: Kabil

CAIRO - 2 June 2018: Trade Minister Tarek Kabil said that the Russian authorities agreed on lifting an import ban on Egyptian potatoes from eight agricultural zones.

The decision is set to come into force on June 6, said the minister.

The minister said in a released statement on Saturday that the Russian decision comes to crown negotiations held in Russia on the sidelines of the joint Egyptian-Russian economic committee that was held in Moscow late in May.

Kabil said that the talks took up restrictions that have been imposed on exporting Egyptian potatoes from the eight agricultural zones since 2015.

The Egyptian commercial office in Moscow has organized a meeting between head of the Central Administration for Agricultural Extension and the Environment Ahmed al Attar and officials from the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision to discuss technical problems obstructing the agricultural exchange movement.

For his part, head of the Egyptian Commercial Office in Moscow Nasser Hamed said that the Russian authorities have taken the decision after Cairo had provided Moscow with the test results of brown rotten (brown mold) from several zones from which potatoes were exported to Russia.