Russian authorities have prohibited entry for an Egyptian grape consignment that arrived at the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, after detecting Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) larvae.

In a release, the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) said the shipment weighed 17.5 metric tons (MT), and was banned in order to prevent the pest's entry into Russia.

The agricultural watchdog said this was the first detection of a quarantine pest found in Egyptian grapes in four years.

Rosselkhoznadzor highlighted the Medfly could potentially damage up to 260 different kinds of crops, including apricots, peaches, cherries, pomegranates, apples, lemons, plums, grapes, tomatoes and peppers.

In other Russian quarantine news, the agency also recently blocked 15 metric tons (MT) of cherries from entering the country across the Kazakh border due to "unknown origin".

Photo: Rosselkhoznadzor

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