Iran’s bell pepper exports to Russia will resume as of March 5, Agriculture Ministry has announced.
Following negotiations carried out on the sidelines of President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to the neighboring country last month and a visit to Iran by a delegation from Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing (Rospotrebnadzor), Russia lifted the ban on bell pepper imports from Iran, IRNA reported, quoting Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali as saying.
Russia recently sent back 37 trucks loaded with Iranian bell pepper from Dagestan border crossing due to failure to meet Russian pesticide standards.
The regulation in which the permitted amounts and instructions for pesticide use are stipulated was ratified more than 50 years ago in Iran, but it is still not being implemented, according to the deputy head of the Agriculture Commission of Tehran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture.
“In the regulation, responsible officials and organizations have been named and strict instructions have been set for pesticide and insecticide use. Unfortunately though, it has all along been neglected,” Ali Taqavifar was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The problem of high levels of pesticide residue, the official added, is not confined to Iran, yet in other countries there is a standard limit, so there is nothing to worry about as far as the limits are observed.
“The problem is that in our country, the standard limits ratified in the fiscal 1969-70 are not abided by and the bodies in charge have neglected their responsibility for years. Part of the responsibility is on the shoulders of the Agriculture Ministry that has to supervise agro products and pesticide import, distribution and use,” he said.
“Moreover, governors general, governors and district governors have been named as officials who have to oversee the cultivation of agricultural products. Also, the Health Ministry has been instructed to supervise over these products in distribution centers, warehouses, sales outlets and grocery stores.”
Taqavifar noted that if any of these bodies realize that a product is unhealthy or lacks quality, they are ordered by the regulation to exterminate it.
“It is a shame that all of the above is easily brushed aside when they have to do with people’s health,” he added.
The official called on the government to educate farmers on how to use pesticides and insecticides.
“Farmers must learn how not to go overboard and be aware of other technical matters in this respect and know, for example, not to apply a pesticide used for one crop on another product,” he said.
“Another problem we face here is lack of accurate data on imports, use and lab results related to pesticides. This is the main reason for contradictory comments coming from officials and businesses when a problem arises.”
Taqavifar’s comments come weeks after consignments of exported Iranian agriculture goods were sent back from their destination countries.
In early October, Russia returned Iran’s bell pepper export consignments and days later, India refused to accept Iran’s kiwi production standards.
Speaking on the issue, Mehdi Hosseini Yazdi, the head of Pesticide and Fertilizer Importers Union, told ILNA that the faulty proceedings of responsible authorities have caused countless losses for Iran’s exporters, adding that in recent years consignments of raisins, watermelons, potatoes, bell peppers and saffron have been returned from export destinations, all for the same reason of excessive pesticide residue.
Russia Returns 104 Tons of Iranian Fruits, Vegetables in Feb.
The Caucasus Interregional Department of Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) controlled the import of more than 22,000 tons of fresh vegetables and fruits from Azerbaijan and Iran in February 2022, 104 tons of Iranian products out of that volume were returned, Trend News Agency reported.
According to the data, this is more than 12,000 tons of vegetables, namely tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, greens and cabbage, and more than 10,000 tons of fruits, namel, persimmons, apples, kiwi, oranges, tangerines and pomegranates. These fruits and vegetables were supplied to the Viaduk temporary storage warehouse and the Derbent Train Station.
The state inspectors of the Caucasus Interregional Department of Rosselkhoznadzor did not allow the import of seven commercial batches of crop products contaminated with insects from Iran to Russia.
The reason was the conclusion made by the Dagestan branch of the Russian Center for Plant Quarantine, which confirmed the detection of the western flower thrips.
Among the prohibited products are also three batches of lettuce (34 tons), three batches of Napa cabbage (more than 50.5 tons) and one batch of fresh parsley (19 tons).
Over $9m Worth of Agrifood Sent Back in 8 Months
A total of 14,096 tons of Iran’s exported agrifood consignments worth $9.19 million were sent back by Iran’s nine export destinations during the current Iranian year’s first eight months (March 21-Nov. 21, 2021) due to failure to meet standards, according to the spokesperson of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration.
“Russia returned 11,132 tons of Iranian agrifood products worth close to $3.3 million during the period,” Rouhollah Latifi was also quoted as saying by the Persian daily Ta’adol.
Russia recently sent back 37 trucks loaded with Iranian bell pepper from Dagestan border crossing.
In the eight months, consignments of palm trees, potatoes and kiwis have been returned by destination countries.
Other countries that sent back similar consignments, the IRICA official noted, were the UAE (688 tons $2.45 million), Turkmenistan (501 tons worth $1.29 million), Turkey (784 tons worth $998,425), Afghanistan (715 tons worth $478,699), Iraq (147 tons worth $352,448), Spain (64 tons worth $196,119), Belarus (35 tons worth $85,423) and Azerbaijan (26 tons worth $30,601).
Latifi noted that given the figures pertaining to retuned export goods over the eight months, Iranian exporters will face roadblocks in international markets if domestic export policies are not rectified to better meet global standards.
