Armenian inspectorate reviewing Russian findings after Moscow halts all fish imports

Armenia's Food Safety Inspectorate is reviewing the findings of Russian inspections after Moscow suspended the certification of fish products from all Armenian producers, bringing exports to the Russian market to a standstill.

Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) announced that it had expanded existing restrictions by temporarily suspending certification for the remaining two Armenian companies previously authorized to export fish products. The decision effectively halts all imports of Armenian fish products into Russia until the identified deficiencies are remedied.

The Russian watchdog said the measure follows an assessment of inspection materials and is intended to ensure the safety of products supplied to the Russian market. Certification will remain suspended until the cited violations are corrected and supporting documentation is submitted.

The Food Safety Inspectorate said the two companies affected by the latest decision had never actually exported fish products to Russia despite having received prior authorization.

"When the Russian Federation granted the two companies permission to export fish products, neither of them shipped a single consignment," its spokesperson Anush Harutyunyan told Panorama.am on Saturday.

Harutyunyan said Russian authorities forwarded the results of joint inspections conducted at four Armenian fish-farming enterprises two days ago. The findings are now under review by the Inspectorate, which is preparing an official response.

"The results of the joint inspections are currently being examined by the Food Safety Inspectorate and an appropriate response will be sent to the Russian authorities," she said.

Earlier, following what Rosselkhoznadzor described as systemic violations, the Russian regulator requested that Armenian authorities temporarily suspend certification for all fish products except those produced by MF Export LLC and Invest Plus LLC, the two companies that had directly participated in the joint inspection process. Those firms had been placed under enhanced laboratory monitoring.

However, after conducting a further analysis of the inspection materials, the Russian regulator issued a preliminary report concluding that certification for those two companies should also be suspended pending the elimination of the identified deficiencies and the submission of corroborating documentation.