The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) has officially requested Kazakhstan to temporarily stop exporting grain, tomatoes, peppers, and sunflower seeds to Russia. This demand was reported by Orda.kz.
Rosselkhoznadzor urged the Kazakh Ministry of Agriculture not to issue phytosanitary certificates for these agricultural products due to concerns about the presence of pests and harmful microorganisms.
Evgeny Karabanov from the Grain Union of Kazakhstan characterized this situation as a potential trade war. He mentioned that Kazakhstan may need to reconsider its ban on importing Russian wheat or retaliate by restricting Russian flour, dairy, and meat imports. If the latter option is chosen, there could be repercussions such as a halt in coal, oil, and petroleum product transit from Russia and even Kazakhstan’s exit from the Eurasian Economic Union.
Recent reports also revealed that Russia has informally implemented measures at its borders where Kazakh goods are being denied entry or passage through Russian territory by border guards and Russian Railways officials.
In other news, Kazakhstan is in talks with China to boost gas exports and is exploring options like constructing an additional pipeline to strengthen its gas transportation system. This move aims to compete with Russia and Turkmenistan for Chinese market demand.
Source: theins.ru