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Russian agricultural watchdog suggests substituting Indian supplies for peanuts from US

The restriction will be effective until the United States provide clarifications concerning the cases of excessive content of cadmium in the US peanuts

© EPA/JAGADEESH NV

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MOSCOW, April 30. /TASS/. Peanuts from the United States prohibited for importation to Russia may be replaced by deliveries of such a commodity from India, Assistant Head of the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) Alexei Alexeenko said on Thursday.

"Quite a lot of countries are producing peanuts. Large volumes are in India and certain other nations. We may select different countries," Alexeenko added.

TASS reported earlier Rosselkhoznadzor restricted the peanuts import from the United States since May 1, 2015, the service said on Thursday. The restriction will be effective until the United States provide clarifications concerning the cases of excessive content of cadmium in the US peanuts.

"An appropriate letter will be drafted today after the meeting chaired by the head of Rosselkhoznadzor Sergei Dankvert," the government agency added.

The service is going to hold consultations with the US phytosanitation service in respect of nonconformity of the US products to technical regulations of the Customs Union.

Rosselkhoznadzor discovered twice the excessive content of hazardous carcinogen cadmium in peanut lots supplied from the United States.

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