Russia Suspends Import of Turkish Lemons

The Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) has suspended the import of lemons from the Turkish company Gonder Soguk. The reason for this decision is the detection of residual amounts of the pesticide chlorpyrifos, which is used to eliminate agricultural pests, diseases, and weeds, as reported by ermenihaber.am.

According to the source, the lemon imports have been halted since November 3, with Rospotrebnadzor adding that this measure is solely for safety reasons.

Previously, Moscow had suspended the import of Turkish mandarins into Russia starting from October 29, citing the need to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, as these mandarins also contained residual amounts of chlorpyrifos at concentrations exceeding permissible levels. Several Russian and Turkish analysts consider this action to be Moscow's response to Turkey's use of Turkish strike UAVs in Donbass.