When the Rosselkhoznadzor imposed a ban on the import of flowers from Armenia on May 21, it looked like a private measure against a specific category. Dankvert's statement on May 22 changes the picture: we are talking about a systemic problem with Armenian supplies in general.
"The Rosselkhoznadzor records problems with the supply of not only flowers from Armenia, but also vegetables and fruits," Dankvert said on the Vesti program.
What is happening with Armenian supplies
When importing 96.2 million pieces of floral products from Armenia, 135 quarantine facilities were detected, which is 77% of the total number of detections for the whole of 2025. One country, one period, and three quarters of the annual statistics of violations across Russia.
Official figures on fruits and vegetables have not yet been published, but the very fact of Dankvert's statement means that the Rosselkhoznadzor has accumulated enough data for a public position. The next step is either a warning to the Armenian side or restrictions.
The problem of re-export
There is a systemic history behind the Armenian supplies. A significant part of the goods going from Armenia to Russia originate from third countries — Iran, Turkey, partly Israel and EU countries. Armenia is used as a transit territory for the import of products that are more difficult or expensive to import directly into Russia.
This is the reason for the high number of quarantine detections: phytosanitary control in these source countries does not meet the requirements of the EAEU, and when re-exporting through Armenia, checks may be less thorough.
In this context, Wildberries has already introduced a requirement for sellers from Armenia to confirm the origin of goods with certificates. Rosselkhoznadzor is moving in the same direction, but at the level of state control.
Who is affected by possible new restrictions
Armenia is one of the major suppliers of fresh vegetables and fruits to Russia. Main items: tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplants, herbs, apricots, peaches, grapes — depending on the season. Supplies are available all year round, but the summer season is the peak of volumes.
For distributors and retail chains working with Armenian suppliers: the risk of supply disruptions right now. If restrictions are introduced in the summer, this will coincide with the seasonal peak in demand and create a real shortage.
What to do right now
To request from Armenian suppliers full documentation on the origin of the goods is not just a declaration, but phytosanitary certificates indicating the country of manufacture. Start working on alternative sources of supplies for the summer season: Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Iran (if there are working channels), Morocco through third markets. To monitor official Rosselkhoznadzor reports, restrictions may appear without a long transition period.
