In a statement released on Monday Montenegro’s largest wine producer said it had received notice from Russia’s consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor that imports of its products had been banned from the Russian market.
Rospotrebnadzor claimed that it had discovered elevated levels of the pesticide metalaxyl and and particle plastic diphtalata in some products, and would therefore be banning the producer from exporting its products into Russia.
Around 20% of the company’s exports are to Russia, with the company also exporting to 42 other countries, “some of which have the strictest quality control, and we have never had such problems”, said its manager Milan Milutinovic Milutinovic.
The company has made clear that its believes the ban was politically motivated by its imminent accession to NATO. Montenegro is expected to become a member of NATO later this year, with its parliament set to ratify its NATO treaty entry this Friday.
It is not the first time that Russia has seemingly banned the import of alcohol for reasons of sanitary failings or shortcomings in terms of labelling.
Russia’s consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has banned imports claiming that it had identified harmful chemical substances in certain batches of spirits.
It had followed a ban on Ukranian drinks being imported in to Russia, following similar claims of labelling issues and apparent discrepancies in nutritional information, when there was increased political tension between the two countries.