The Russian state agricultural watchdog has announced heightened control over Armenian imports.

Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) Director Sergey Dankvert said in a Russian public broadcast interview that Armenia allegedly does not fully comply with Eurasian Economic Union requirements regarding simplified imports from non-EEU countries, specifically from the EU.

The official claimed that the volume and variety of goods supplied from Armenia raise doubts about their “actual origin.”

“For example, Armenia has increased its flower exports from 36 million to over 100 million pieces in three years. Similar growth is observed in many other products as well,” Dankvert said.

According to him, due to these circumstances, the Russian side has moved phytosanitary control closer to the border.

Dankvert also claimed that more than 900 quarantine detections have been recorded in Armenian goods, requiring additional disinfection measures.

Referring to animal-origin products, he alleged that in some cases the declared origin of the goods may not correspond to reality.

“As an example, we can mention butter, cheese, and trout. Trout from Armenia’s mountain rivers cannot be similar to Norwegian trout,” the Russian official said.

This article will be updated with responses from the relevant Armenian government agencies.