A shipment of 46 tons of tomatoes from Kazakhstan's Green Capital company, based in Aktobe, was returned by Russian authorities in late May 2025 over suspected contamination with Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV).
However, Kazakhstan's accredited laboratories found no trace of the virus in the returned produce. According to the Committee of State Inspection in Kazakhstan's Agriculture Ministry, repeated inspections and laboratory tests, including those at the Central laboratory in Astana, confirmed that the tomatoes were virus-free.
The Russian Rosselkhoznadzor office in Omsk had flagged a total of three tomato shipments for alleged contamination. One batch of 15 tons of Merlis tomatoes was cleared for export on May 16, but returned on May 22 with virus concerns. Two more shipments totaling 31 tons were returned shortly afterward.
Out of the 317.7 tons exported to Russia since mid-May, only three batches were rejected, and no quarantine violations had been previously recorded.
Kazakhstan's authorities emphasized that the matter remains under close observation. They are in ongoing communication with Russian officials to clarify the reason for the rejections and to avoid any potential misinterpretations of phytosanitary results.
Source: bes.media