Russia Imposes Total Ban on Fish Imports from Armenia

Russia has extended its ban on fish imports from Armenia to cover all of the country's processing plants, the state-run TASS news agency reported Friday, citing the agricultural safety agency Rosselkhoznadzor. Earlier this month, imports were restricted from all but two plants that had allegedly refused to undergo health and safety inspections. Now, those two facilities—MF Export and Invest Plus—have also been banned after safety violations were discovered.

"The decision was made to temporarily suspend product certification for these remaining enterprises," Rosselkhoznadzor said in a statement. The move follows previous Russian restrictions on most Armenian food products, including seeds, flowers, wood, and fertilizer, due to what officials described as the "systematic detection" of pests. Russia has also limited the sale and import of Armenian mineral water and alcoholic beverages over various health and safety concerns.

While Moscow insists the restrictions are based solely on sanitary issues, the measures increasingly resemble an economic pressure campaign aimed at Yerevan as it pursues closer ties with the European Union. Sergei Dankvert, head of Rosselkhoznadzor, has denied that the trade bans are politically motivated.

Armenia's central bank estimates that Russia's import ban affects roughly 2% of the South Caucasus country's GDP. The resulting oversupply of goods redirected away from Russia could lead to a 0.6% decrease in local prices in Armenia, policymakers said.

Tensions between Russia and Armenia have grown since Azerbaijan regained control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023. Armenia accused Russia and its peacekeeping forces of failing to deter Baku's military offensive and, in 2024, froze its participation in a Moscow-led regional security bloc.