Russia has begun importing bananas from India and plans to increase such imports, its food safety watchdog said on Tuesday, following a dispute with its main supplier, Ecuador, over the latter’s intention to swap older Russian-made military hardware in exchange for $200 million in new military equipment from the US.
Last week, the Russian Foreign Ministry condemned Ecuador’s proposal to turn over Russian-made military hardware to the US for deployment in Ukraine as a “reckless” breach of contract.
India Exporting Bananas to Russia
India delivered the first batch of bananas to Russia in January, with future export numbers expected to increase, Russian news agency TASS reported, citing a statement issued by the Russian Federal Service of Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor).
“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 volume of export of Indian bananas to the Russian market will be increased in the future,” the statement added.
The watchdog claimed there are currently no limitations on the supply of fruits and vegetables from India to Russia. With phytosanitary certificates, Indian fruits can be delivered to Russia without any restrictions.
Rosselkhoznadzor said India, a big banana producer, has expressed interest in selling other fruits, including mangoes, pineapples, papaya, and guava, to the Russian market. Accordingly, New Delhi will submit a list of fruits that are planned to be exported to Russia in the near future. In turn, the watchdog will communicate phytosanitary regulations for such products to Indian counterparts.
Russia is suspending imports of bananas and flowers from Ecuador, weeks after Quito agreed to a U.S. weapons deal that will result in Ukraine receiving Soviet-era military equipment from the South American country.https://t.co/PueVZN3PuF
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) February 6, 2024
Russia Suspends Five Ecuadorian Banana Exporters
Ecuador is the world’s biggest banana exporter, with sales of over $3.5 billion in 2022. Around one-fifth of its annual sales go to Russia.
Earlier, the Rosselkhoznadzor expressed concern about the problem of tainted bananas coming from Ecuador. It stated that the Megaselia scalaris fly has been found to contaminate the batches of banana coming in from Ecuador. Accordingly, the watchdog requested that Ecuador’s Minister of Agriculture and Livestock, Franklin Danilo Palacios Marquez, suspend the certification of bananas from the five Ecuadorian exporters that committed the most violations in this regard beginning 5 February.
The Russian regulator is concerned about the developing circumstances. Supposedly, if Ecuador fails to take appropriate measures, and the said flies continue to be identified in bananas, then the authority will be forced to proceed to the second level of restrictive measures, the watchdog’s press service reported.
Ecuador to Transfer Russian Military Hardware to US
Russia’s decision to ban some Ecuadorian banana imports followed President Daniel Noboa’s announcement in January that Ecuador would transfer several tonnes of Russian-made military equipment to the US.
Noboa described the equipment as “scrap metal” that will be replaced with new equipment needed for fighting the drug gangs that have been terrorising the country. Ecuadorian officials have stated that Moscow recommended against the hardware swap, but believed they had the authority to do it anyway. The US said that the arms received from Ecuador will be sent to Ukraine to help strengthen its soldiers on the battlefield against Russia.
Carlos Estarellas, a former Ecuadorian vice minister for foreign affairs, believes Russia’s decision to ban some banana shipments could be in retaliation for the decision to send the old military equipment to the US.
:zap:️Media: Russia condemns Ecuador's decision to send Russian military equipment to US for Ukraine.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) February 2, 2024
Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry's spokeswoman, claimed in a comment for RIA Novosti that Ecuador's decision was a breach of contract between the two countries, adding… pic.twitter.com/dnrJxHTeNv
Russia Condemns Ecuador’s Decision
In reference to the weapon swap deal with the US, Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, claimed, “Such a reckless decision was taken by the Ecuadorian side under serious pressure from outside interested parties.”
“Our partners are well aware of the provisions of the contracts, which include an obligation to use the supplied equipment for the stated purposes and not to transfer it to a third party without obtaining the relevant agreement of the Russian side,” Zakharova remarked.
Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation further clarified that the military cooperation agreement between the Russian and Ecuadorian authorities prohibits the transfer of military products to a third party without Moscow’s prior written consent.