Russia lifts ban on Tajik nuts, dried fruits

Russia has lifted a ban on imports of Tajik nuts and dried fruit, news media reported June 15, quoting Gennady Onishchenko, director of Russia's consumer protection agency.

Onishchenko imposed the ban in early May, citing the Tajik polio outbreak. Outraged Tajik farmers complained that polio is not transmissible through dried fruit and that Onishchenko's action cost them a vital market.

The prohibition did its part in preventing a mass polio outbreak in Russia, Onishchenko said in announcing its end.