Russia to Warn EU About Possible Dutch Flower Import Ban

Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor stated that Netherlands flower imports should be banned due to repeated detection of quarantined organisms, posing a serious threat to Russian agricultural production and its contribution to the country's economy.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia’s agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor intends to send out letters this week, warning seven European countries about a potential ban of Dutch plants for import to Russia, a source in the watchdog told RIA Novosti Monday.

On July 21, the watchdog organization stated that Netherlands flower imports should be banned due to repeated detection of quarantined organisms, posing a serious threat to Russian agricultural production and its contribution to the country's economy. The bill awaits a final decision from the government.

“We plan to send out warnings about the possible ban on the import of flowers of Dutch origin to our European colleagues this week,” the source said.

The countries included in the watchdog’s blacklist include Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Italy, Germany and the Czech Republic. The ban would only apply to plants grown in the Netherlands.

The Russian watchdog has been monitoring and analyzing flowers imported from the Netherlands for the past few months. According to the source, the thrips pest was the most prevalent among infestations found in imported plants.