Belarus may impose a ban on imports of fish from Latvia and Estonia at Russia`s request.
Vasil Pivavar, Belarus` deputy minister of agriculture, announced that authorities were set to consider the ban in the near future while speaking at a meeting with Yevgeny Nepoklonov, deputy head of Russia`s Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Monitoring Service (Rosselkhoznadzor), in Moscow on September 30.
According to Mr. Nepoklonov, Belarus imported 1,321 tons of frozen and canned fish from Latvia and 3,398 tons of frozen fish from Estonia from early June through late September. Much of the fish was processed at Belarusian plants before being re-exported to Russia, he said, raising questions about the safety of fish supplied from Estonia and Latvia.
"There are all grounds to believe that products made by Belarusian companies from the potentially dangerous raw materials were certified by Belarusian authorities for exports to Russia without restrictions," the press office of Rosselkhoznadzor quoted Mr. Nepoklonov as saying.
He said that the Eurasian Economic Union had banned imports of fish from Estonia and Latvia but Belarus flouted the ban. The country has even imported fish from companies that were banned from exporting to Russia as far back as in 2013 and 2014, said the Russian official.
Mr. Pivavar pledged that Belarusian authorities would tighten control over the quality of food supplied by local fish-packing plants to Russia, and work to prevent them from using frozen fish from Estonia and Latvia.
He said that Minsk was ready to allow Rosselkhoznadzor experts to inspect Belarusian fish-packing plants that export their products to Russia.
