Some 3,200 tons of potatoes exported from Armenia to Georgia this year
08.11.2013,
18:35
Armenia exported 3,200 tons of potatoes to Georgia this year, Arthur Nikoyan, chief of the Armenian agriculture ministry’s phytosanitary inspection, said Friday at a news conference.
YEREVAN, November 8. /ARKA/. Armenia exported 3,200 tons of potatoes to Georgia this year, Arthur Nikoyan, chief of the Armenian agriculture ministry’s phytosanitary inspection, said Friday at a news conference.
“For comparison, I should say that we exported 1,137 tons of potatoes to Georgia in 2012,” he said.
In response to a question whether Georgia may ban the import of Armenian potatoes after an infected potato incident, he said that there is no such a problem.
“Potatoes are being exported from Armenia to Georgia every day,” he added.
According to the information received from the Georgian finance ministry’s state revenue agency in late October, Georgia’s customs house in Sadakhlo found Ralstonia Solanacearum and Synchytrium Endobioticum (Schilb) Perc bacteria in the potatoes sent to Gerogia form Armenia.
Samples of these potatoes were sent to a special laboratory for confirmation. It became clear after the laboratory examination that 114,500 kilograms of potatoes were infected with the bacteria. As a result, more than 400 tons of exported potatoes were returned to the exporter country.
The Armenian side denied the infection saying that samples were taken not from the Armenian batch and that there is no Ralstonia Solanacearum in Armenia. ----0----
