Russia to suspend Thai rice imports as of May 1
Russia will temporarily ban rice imports from Thailand as of May 1, a Russian food safety watchdog said Thursday, RIA Novosti reports.
The Rosselkhoznadzor agency said in a press release the ban will be imposed following the seizure of a contaminated 1,200-ton rice batch from Bangkok in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiisk last December.
High levels of pesticides and genetically modified ingredients were detected last year in other batches of rice imported from South East Asia and the Indian subcontinent, prompting Russia to suspend all rice imports in December, regardless of the country of origin.