OREANDA-NEWS. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that the decision to ban the supply of Azerbaijani tomatoes to Russia was unexpected for Baku.

It is reported that the Rosselkhoznadzor has banned the import of tomatoes and apples from Azerbaijan to Russia since December 10. The introduction of the ban was associated with the continued supply of Azerbaijani products with pests: South American tomato moth and eastern moth. Then deliveries from some enterprises were allowed again.

Aliyev said at a meeting dedicated to summing up the results for 2020, Russia's decision to ban tomato supplies came as a surprise to the Azerbaijani side. The President added that several years ago, during the period of sanctions, the Russian side turned to Azerbaijan to increase the export of agricultural products. As a result of Russian-Azerbaijani cooperation, there has been great growth. According to Aliyev, if you look at exports 4-5 years ago and last year, a big difference is noticeable. If this ban had not been placed - however, some of the restrictions have already been lifted - Azerbaijan's exports last year would have reached 200,000 tons.

Earlier it was reported that the Russian side reserves the right to introduce temporary restrictions on the import of tomatoes from Iran, on which the brown wrinkle virus of the fruit, tobamovirus, was detected. Representatives of the Iranian department promised to promptly investigate these facts and take urgent measures to guarantee compliance with the law in the supply of regulated products from the Islamic Republic to Russia.