Rosselkhoznadzor Halves the Fish
The restrictions that Rosselkhoznadzor plans to impose on fish supplies from the EU, Japan, China and Vietnam may slash the imports by 50 percent starting from January 1, 2009. In Rosselkhoznadzor, they claim that the fish importers don’t pass certification procedure of Russia’s veterinary service, all warning notwithstanding. But the market players say that only the importers authorized by Rosselkhoznadzor may supply fish to Russia.
Russia’s Federal Agency for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) will restrict from January 1, 2009 fish imports from the plants of the European Union, China, Japan and Vietnam. Under the ruling of the RF Agriculture Ministry, only the firms and vessels sanctioned by Rosselkhoznadzor may supply fish to Russia, said Igor Chernyshenko, chief of the organization and inspection department at Rosselkhoznadzor.
Another requirement is the existence of Russia’s company-importer. “In practice, it means that an importer is tied to a definite producer,” said Oleg Bogoradovsky, who is the wholesale director at Orgkhim-Ecologia
The ruling is in force for a year and Norway was the first state to adjust enterprises to its requirements, said an official from Rosselkhoznadzor. Similar procedures are being carried out in 26 more countries supplying fish to Russia, including Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Ecuador, Peru and Columbia. But the European Union, China, Japan and Vietnam have ignored the ruling.
According to Rosselkhoznadzor, Russia imports roughly 1.2 million tons of fish a year; the EU covers 15 percent, China (the key supplier of walleye Pollack) accounts for 40 percent and Norway has nearly 30 percent. But it is often the re-export, when the firms tend to deliver repacked fish produced by other nations.
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All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 26, 2008
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