Russia lifts ban on Punjab potatoes, clears 101 Pakistani exporters
Russia has lifted its phytosanitary ban on potato imports from Pakistan's Punjab province, allowing 101 exporters to resume shipments from July 7. Two exporters remain barred over 2025 quarantine breaches. The reopening comes as Pakistan seeks buyers for a roughly 4 million tonne export surplus.
Russia clears 101 Pakistani exporters
Russia has lifted its ban on potato imports from Pakistan's Punjab province, allowing 101 exporters to resume shipments from July 7, according to Dawn and ProPakistani. The decision followed a review of Pakistan's phytosanitary control system and was formally communicated by Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance to Pakistan's Ministry of National Food Security and Research.
According to Pakistan's trade mission in Moscow, approval was granted on the basis of guarantees provided by Pakistan's Department of Plant Protection and a review of the listed exporters and their planned export volumes from Punjab. Two exporters were excluded from the reopening after the Russian authority found they had violated the phytosanitary quarantine requirements of the Eurasian Economic Union while supplying potatoes to Russia in 2025.
How the ban unfolded
In May 2025, Russia suspended potato imports from Punjab, citing the alleged presence of the Potato Tuber Moth and Tomato Wilt virus. Pakistan raised the issue with the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance in February, submitting pest status records and laboratory diagnostic reports confirming the absence of the identified pests and pathogens in its potato crop.
The latest step builds on an earlier partial reopening. Russia had already allowed three Pakistani exporters, Chase International, Zahid Kinnow Grading and Waxing Plant, and National Fruit, to resume shipments from April 8, according to the trade officer's letter cited by Dawn.
A bumper crop looking for buyers
The timing matters for trade flows. Pakistan is harvesting a bumper potato crop estimated at around 12 million metric tons this season, with close to 4 million metric tons identified as surplus for export. Officials expect the Russian decision to help absorb surplus stocks, stabilise domestic potato prices, support farming communities and generate additional foreign exchange earnings.
To capture the opening, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan and the Pakistan Horticulture Development & Export Company (PHDEC) have held virtual B2B meetings with exporters. Pakistan was also assessing export routes to Central Asian states through China and Iran following the closure of the Torkham border, Dawn reported.
What exporters should watch
The exclusion of two exporters over 2025 quarantine breaches signals that access remains conditional on compliance. With shipments tied to guarantees from the Department of Plant Protection and a vetted list of firms and volumes, continued market access will depend on meeting Eurasian Economic Union phytosanitary standards on every consignment. For importers on the Russian side, the reopening widens sourcing options for the season, but the exclusions underline that consignment quality and pest-free certification will remain the decisive factor.
