Russia warns it may ban Brazil soybean imports

Russia may ban imports of soybean from Brazil, its biggest supplier, over fears of contamination, according to a government statement published Friday.

The state food safety inspectorate of Russia, in a statement published online, said officials had told Brazil’s ministry of agriculture that it would ban soybean imports unless Brazil took measures to prevent contamination in cargoes.

“In case of failure by the Brazilian side to ensure quarantine control measures in the export of soybeans, (we) reserve the right to introduce a temporary ban on soybean imports into the Russian Federation, including through third countries, from Brazil,” the statement said.

Without giving more detail, Russia’s inspectorate said it had found 20 cases of “quarantined objects” among Brazilian soybeans in the past six weeks and 127 over the past year.

The inspectorate said it had received assurances from Brazil it would send details of measures taken to avoid contamination.

The inspectorate was unavailable for comment.

Russia imports around 2 million mt of soybean, while Brazil is the world’s largest exporter, selling around 65 million mt a year of a 110 million mt crop.

Around 150 million mt is traded internationally each year.

The news comes just as Russia, looking to place its substantial wheat crop, was expected to announce its wheat would be allowed into Brazil in return for meat products heading in the opposite direction.

Russia’s food safety inspectorate has previously been drawn into Russia’s diplomatic spats, including with Turkey over tomato imports in the wake of the shooting down of a fighter jet over Syria in 2015 and cheese imports from the EU after sanctions were passed following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.