Anti-Smuggling "Special Regime" with Belarus

Any goods raising doubts will not enter the Russian territory.

Special phytosanitary regime on deliveries of vegetables from Belarus will be introduced by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance since December 7. Russia will not allow all doubtful production from our country, RBK writes. "All that is suspicious will not be allowed to Russia," press-secretary of Rosselkhoznadzor Yulia Melano said.

The department says that Belarus delivers production under food embargo to Russia, BelaPAN reports.

"If we take not good suppliers from the EU, they take their products, for example apples, stamp certificates and say that apples are from Latin America. It is not a season there. Then it all goes to Belarus and they check documents. Instead of slowing up this production and ask suppliers, they just let it in to Russia. It is the way it works," Melano said.

Rosselkhoznadzor has repeatedly indicated facts proving that documentation of quarantineable products imported to Russia with Belarusian re-export certificates with forged phytosanitary certificates from more than ten countries are of systematic nature. In October 2015 the department revealed new illegal schemes of import of forbidden vegetables from the European Union. They were allegedly taken through Russia to Kazakhstan, but were sold in the Russia's territory. The Main State Inspectorate for Seed Production, Quarantine and Protection of Plants of Belarus was involved in illegal deliveries.

In November the head of the department called our country the channel for smuggling.

Russian sanitary services have complaints against the Belarusian party not only from a perspective of re-export, but quality of Belarusian production as well. There were 36 violations of 327 samples in food products in Moscow region.