MOSCOW, February 6. /TASS/. India supplied the first batch of bananas to Russia in January 2024, with export volumes planned to be increased in the future, the press service of the Russian Federal Service of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision said in a statement.

"The joint efforts resulted in supply of the first batch of bananas from India to Russia in January 2024, with the next supply planned by the end of this February. The volumes of export of Indian bananas to the Russian market will be increased in the future," the statement reads.

Russia’s veterinary watchdog has discussed issues related to supplies of fruits from India to Russia with representatives of the country’s Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Indian side expressed interest in expansion of the range of supplies of fruits to the Russian market, the service said, adding that the issue of access to Indian fruits had been negotiated for several years.

There are currently no restrictions on supply of fruits and vegetables from India to Russia, the watchdog noted. Indian fruits may be delivered to Russia’s territory without barriers with phytosanitary certificates applied. The Indian side will submit to the service the list of fruits planned to be exported to Russia in the near future. In turn, the watchdog will submit phytosanitary requirements to such products to Indian colleagues.

According to data provided by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), India is the world’s biggest producer of bananas, having produced 33 mln tons of bananas in 2023, followed by China (12 mln tons), and Indonesia (8.7 mln tons).

Earlier, the Russian Federal Service of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision said it was concerned about the situation with tainted bananas coming in from Ecuador. The watchdog asked Ecuador’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock Franklin Danilo Palacios Marquez to suspend the certification of bananas from five Ecuadorian exporters that committed the largest number of violations from February 5.