The Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance found the fruit fly in Ecuadorian bananas and closed the import from five companies from this country. Some 30% of banana imports from Ecuador fell under the ban. They warned that if the problem is not resolved, the «next stage of restrictive measures» will follow.
Russian regulators focused on Ecuadorian bananas in particular on February 2 — just a few days after Ecuador agreed to provide the U.S. with old Soviet military gear expected to ultimately end up in Ukraine. In return, the country is to receive modern weapons to fight gangs of drug traffickers from the US, said Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld. It is indicated that the equipment is in a bad condition and only suitable for parts. In particular, this refers to 11 Mi-17 helicopters — only one of them is operational.
The move was named «unfriendly» by Vladimir Sprinchan, the Russian Ambassador to Ecuador. It should be noted that it is very often the Russian government to resort to trade sanctions over the «wrong political choice» of the country. Apparently, the story with Ecuadorian bananas is just such a case.
From the side of Ecuador, the foreign minister spoke about the possibilities of growing the trade with Ukraine. In his turn, he expressed gratitude to Ecuador for its support to Ukraine, and called on the country to support the Peace Formula of Ukraine.
Propagandists are quick to reassure Russians — that bananas can be grown in Russia itself, in the Krasnodar Territory. «Successful experiments» told the head of the Industry Expertise Center of the state-owned Russian Agricultural Bank Oleg Knyazkov. Besides, the pro-government Russian mass media promise that there will be set supplies of bananas from the countries of Southeast Asia.
In this trade war, it is the ordinary Russian who is suffering most — the prices for the fruit are skyrocketing. From the beginning of 2022 to October 2023, bananas have risen in price by a whole three quarters. The government of Russia has even mulled including bananas in the list of socially important goods to regulate their prices.
