Rosselkhoznadzor imposed the restriction from 27 July, citing repeated breaches of veterinary and sanitary standards found during inspections between 14 and 21 July: traceability failures, documentation problems, and the use of milk from infected livestock or third-country raw material.
Armenia’s Food Safety Inspectorate says the joint inspection of four dairy plants found no evidence that milk from diseased animals or imported raw material was used.
Armenia earned $16.4 million from cheese exports in 2025, of which Russia took $13.5 million, or 82%, the United States $1.8 million and Georgia $670,900. Reporting puts up to 80% of cheese export revenue at risk.
The transit clause bites harder. Rosselkhoznadzor also stopped imports of quarantine-regulated goods and their transit through Russia to other Eurasian Economic Union states. A member of a customs union that cannot cross the union’s largest member reaches nobody else inside it either.
Same ladder, third rung. Five Uzbek exporters were restricted from 23 July after ten in May. Armenia reached a full ban in June, and ADB’s July outlook cut its 2026 growth forecast citing Russian trade restrictions.
Yerevan published its reorientation numbers on Monday too: economic activity up 7.9% in the first half, foreign trade turnover $9.57 billion and down 0.1%, consumer prices up 4.6%. Exports to China grew 83.4% in the first half of the year and exports to the EU 80%, on total exports down 3.7%. Russia took 82% of the cheese money last year and China grew 83.4% from a smaller base. Those two figures describe one problem from opposite ends.