The Russian Agency for Health and Consumer Rights extended a list of Belarusian dairy products allowed for imports to Russia, but supplies may be suspended again.
"I have considered the third list of Belarusian products, for which import was allowed in accordance with the protocol signed. The list includes 130 types of dairy products of different producers," RIA Novosti quotes Gennady Onishchenko, head of the Russian Agency for Health and Consumer Rights and Russia’s chief health officer.
According to him, Belarusian enterprises and suppliers don’t hurry to give samples of the products imported for inspection, which is one of the necessary conditions of the protocol signed by Russia and Belarus.
"If this continues, the terms, specified in the protocol, will expire. I’d like to warn the Belarusian side that if no measures are taken, we won’t allow new lists and, I don’t exclude this, we’ll suspend the three lists that allow import of fermented milk products," Onishchenko said. According to him, the appropriate notice has already been sent to the Ministry of Agricultural Products of Belarus.
Practically all supplies of Belarusian dairy products to Russia were stopped in early June, because Belarusian producers and suppliers failed to re-register licenses in accordance with new technical approvals for milk and dairy products. Import of 1200 types of products was banned; preparation of documents for 200 types of products was suspended.
On June 16, during negotiations the parties managed to agree that Belarusian producers and suppliers would gradually arrange the documents for the products exported to Russia. For this period the Russian Agency for Health and Consumer Rights lifts restrictions from some types of products according to previously agreed lists.
Supplies were resumed on June 18. The first lists included 139 types of Belarusian dairy products. On June 23, the second list of 134 types was approved.
