Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 5 June (BelTA) – One must not stop the operation of an entire industry and sub-industries. Sergei Sidorsky, Member of the Board (Minister) for Industry and Agribusiness Complex of the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), made the relevant statement on the sidelines of the international agricultural expo Belagro 2018 on 5 June as he commented on actions by the Russian food quality watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, BelTA has learned.

The Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance of Russia (Rosselkhoznadzor) has said it will temporarily prohibit the import of several kinds of Belarusian dairy products in containers of over 2.5 liters as from 6 June. Sergei Sidorsky said: “One must not stop the operation of an entire industry and sub-industries. If we are to build the Eurasian Economic Union, a union of equal economic partners, we have to honor the commitments stipulated by the charter documents.”

Sergei Sidorsky said he had tried to contact Rosselkhoznadzor after mass media reports about the prohibition but had received no answer as who made this decision. “I will be in Moscow tomorrow. We are going to look into it,” noted the EEC minister.

“There are routine situations concerning individual enterprises in Russia, Belarus, Armenia, and Kazakhstan. Veterinary services deal with such situations in the course of their everyday work. But we always speak against violating the agreements specified by the relevant Eurasian Economic Union documents,” stated Sergei Sidorsky.