Israel and Azerbaijan are investigating forgery of tomato import certificates

Consignments of tomatoes declared as products from Azerbaijan were accompanied by fake phytosanitary certificates, and in some cases contained links to a website imitating the official portal of the Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency.

Since the end of September, 47 containers of tomatoes with fake phytosanitary certificates have arrived in Israel. Such products, imported without real controls in the country of origin, can not only harm public health, but also cause serious environmental and economic damage to the Israeli agricultural industry.

The ministry emphasizes that the falsification was carried out without the participation of the Azerbaijani authorities, and that the investigation is being conducted in active cooperation with Baku.

Imports of tomatoes from Azerbaijan began in 2023 as part of a large-scale initiative by the Ministry of Agriculture to open new sources of imports of fruits and vegetables. Today, tomatoes can be imported to Israel from 31 countries.