MOSCOW, August 11 (Itar-Tass) — Egypt remains the only country where restrictions persist on exports of vegetables to Russia, the head of the Russian Rospotrebnadzor consumer rights watchdog, Gennady Onishchenko, said at a news conference on Thursday.
“The only remaining problem is with Egypt,” Onishchenko said, reminding reporters that on August 9 Russia lifted all restrictions on vegetable imports. He said a session of the European Commission took place on Wednesday, and that it plans to send experts to Egypt. After that they will draw a conclusion.
“And we will decide whether restrictions must be lifted or not,” he said. He noted that despite restrictions on imports of vegetables from Egypt, this does not affect Russia a lot. “We import practically no legume seeds,” he reminded reporters. The European Union saw them as a source of intestinal infection spreading in Europe, and imposed a ban on their imports on July 5.
A total of 3,910 cases of intestinal infection have been registered in Europe, and 46 people have died.