Specialists of Russia’s agriculture food watchdog Rosselhoznadzor agreed to review the list of Moldovan companies that will export vegetal products to Russia, Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry Valeriu Cosarciuc said in a news conference in August 26, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. Cosarciuc said the decision was taken as a result of negotiations carried out during the last week and the intervention of Prime Minister Vlad Filat, who sought help from his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. “We agreed to hold a meeting with representatives of production associations and exporters today and immediately draw up an updated list. A representative of the Agriculture Ministry will leave for Moscow today and present the list to Rosselhoznadzor,” he said. The minister did no say how many companies will be in the updated list, but suggested it will include not only the 33 companies allowed by the Russian authorities to export fruit and vegetables to Russia. “We consider the companies whose products meet the quality and safety standards should be able to export to any market, without being included in certain lists. On the other hand, we must learn from the experience of other countries, where the producers create groups of companies that deal with exports,” Cosarciuc said. As to the rumors that many of the 33 companies authorized to export to Russia have the same founders, Valeriu Cosarciuc said representatives of the Security and Information Service attended the recent meetings with producers and exporters and will investigate this case. The minister said special attention should be paid to the certification of the vegetal products. He informed that a number of branches of the Chisinau laboratory will be opened in districts soon. According to Cosarciuc, the exports of vegetal products this year rose by 5%. About 30% of these products are sold to Russia, over 10% to Belarus, while over 7% to Romania. The minister said on August 30 he will meet with his Romanian counterpart to discuss the possibility of increasing the exports of Moldovan fruit and vegetables to Romania.