It was confirmed Tuesday by the Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investment and Fisheries, Sonsoles Garcia, in statements to Ecuavisa channel.

According to Garcia, the problem began in 2018, when the Russian Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) made a first notification, claiming that humpback flies had been detected in banana containers that arrived in that country, she said.

For this reason, the Agency of Regulation and Phytosanitary and Zoosanitary Control (Agrocalidad) implemented an action plan in packing houses and the production process to prevent any kind of contamination, which was communicated to Rosselkhoznadzor.

The Phytosanitary Agency claimed that humpback flies carry cholera, and since 2014 our country is not a carrier of that disease. We are working to disprove any kind of retaliation, the official denounced.

According to the Minister, President Daniel Noboa and Foreign Minister Gabriela Sommerfeld have not received any communication from the Government of Russia indicating that it is a retaliation for Ecuador’s decision to deliver Russian weapons to the United States.

She also warned that there are some 25,000 jobs directly linked to these shipments to Russia and more than 3,000 small producers.

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