KARACHI: Following the restriction imposed by a Russian quarantine team that visited Pakistan recently, exporters will have to take certificate from a private lab in Lahore for exporting fruits and vegetables to Russia.

The certificate restriction was imposed by the Russian team which visited Sindh and Punjab from November 12-18, 2012 to inspect potato, mango and kinnow growing areas. The team had a detailed meeting with exporters on November 17 and informed the latter that they need to get the certificate from a private lab in addition to usual phytosanitary certificate from the Plant Protection Department (PPD).

Chairman All Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association Waheed Ahmed, in a statement, said that approving one single private lab for certificate by the Russian team would lead to monopoly and corruption.

The Russian team in their meeting with exporters had argued that the lab had technical expertise including molecular test as compared to other labs.

Waheed said that the Lahore based lab is neither registered with PPD nor the PPD has any credential to this lab.

He said that it is not possible to handle huge exports of fruits and vegetables by a single lab as shipments are made from Karachi mainly. It will only increase cost besides involving exporters in tedious procedures, he added.