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Moscow ban on plant imports upsets New Delhi

NEW DELHI: The ties between New Delhi and Moscow are facing turbulence ahead of Russian Prime Minister Victor Zubkov’s visit to inaugurate the ‘Year of Russia in India’ and attend the second ‘Business Forum.’

At the heart of the dispute is Russia’s ban on plant imports from India following the discovery of a live carp beetle in a rice consignment that landed at a Russian port.

The Ministry of External Affairs has taken umbrage at the ban and argues that there is no need to burn the entire lot of Indian plant produce that reached Russia along with the lot containing the beetle. But Russia maintains that the existence of the beetle was a major health hazard for its people and it wants to be convinced about foolproof fumigation procedures at Indian ports before lifting the ban.

Russia imports rice, tea, coffee, tobacco and spices, mainly grown by farmers in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab. Although there has been no response from the Indian side, Russia has decided to allow, with some specifications, some of these products to be imported through the ports of Saint Petersburg and Kaliningrad.

A senior Russian embassy official said a letter was sent to the Indian embassy in Moscow on January 22, explaining the reasons for the ban and seeking an exchange of delegations to check and, if required, firm up the fumigation procedures. When the Agriculture Ministry here professed ignorance about the letter, a Russian embassy official visited it three days letter with a translated copy of the letter.

“Till now there has been no reaction. Instead there is some attempt to combine political maters with this issue. This is not a fair game,” the Russian diplomat said.

Pakistan too landed in a similar situation last year and it took Islamabad almost nine months to set its house in order before the ban was lifted.

In an attempt to mitigate the hardening of tea prices in Moscow and maintain cordial trade ties as far as possible, Russia has decided to honour all contracts signed before January 28.

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