OREANDA-NEWS. Russia and Belarus will create a working group to reinforce control over food imports in the context of Russia's embargo on foodstuffs imported from the EU states.

Yulia Trofimova, spokeswoman for Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control (Rosselkhoznadzor) made a statement to this effect following a meeting between Rosselkhoznadzor chief Sergey Dankvert and Belarus' Agriculture Minister Leonid Zayats in Moscow on Wednesday.

The decision to set up a working party like that was prompted by numerous facts of imported foodstuffs arriving with counterfeited certificates of origin allegedly issued by Belarus' veterinary service.

Rosselkhoznadzor says it spotted numerous instances of foodstuffs declared as transit commodities on their way across Russia to Kazakhstan would disappear on the Russian territory without a trace. Russia wants to make it mandatory for Kazakhstan to notify customs authorities about accepting transit cargoes.

Kazakhstan so far stays away from activities of the working group, but Rosselkhoznadzor plans to raise the working group to the orbit of the Customs Union (which embraces Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan).

Belarus' Agriculture Minister Leonid Zayats informed Rosselkhoznadzor about the efforts made by the Belarusian authorities to prevent embargoed foodstuffs from being re-exported to Russia. According to Trofimova, Rosselkhoznadzor is satisfied with the position of Belarus, but will keep monitoring foodstuff supplies from Belarusian companies.

As previously reported, Rosselkhoznadzor announced in September that Russia could restrict imports from certain Belarusian fish and dairy enterprises amid rising health fears as supplies of fish from Norway and dairy products from Lithuania and Poland to the neighbouring republic increase.

Rosselkhoznadzor head Sergey Dankvert told that the regulator aimed to improve monitoring of Belarusian products due to an unusual growth of dairy imports from Lithuania and Poland, and fish imports from Norway in September. Speaking of the unusual increase in foodstuff supplied from Belarus, Dankvert referred in particular to Savushkin Product dairy manufacturer and Santa Bremor fish processing company.