Destruction of illegal products persist

The execution of the Minsk 2 accords, which describe the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, is ‘regrettable,’ said the Russian ambassador on the eve of a new summit about this topic. Turkey remains hopeful of an end to the sanctions imposed by Russia, while Morocco hopes to profit from the entire situation. The interceptions of illegally imported products persist. In the past few days tonnes of tomatoes, apples and other fruits and vegetables were destroyed.

This week there is once again a summit for talks about the ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. On the eve of the summit the Russian ambassador called the execution of the Minsk 2 accords ‘regrettable.’ According to the Russians, peace in eastern Ukraine is very important, but the situation is ‘far from promising and productive.’ The Minsk 2 accords contain a twelve-step plan to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The steps include, among other things, a ceasefire and a withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the front lines. The conflict in Ukraine is at the root of the boycott.

According to official figures from the Russian Ministry of Agriculture the import of Chinese apples and citrus doubled in the first months of this year. According to the ministry, trade between the two countries increased in value by 10 per cent to 800 million dollars. The Chinese figures report a 15 per cent increase in import from Russia, representing a value of 440 million dollar. 

The Turkish government remains hopeful of an end to the sanctions from Russia. A Turkish delegation visited Moscow to talk about the situation. According to reports a Russian delegation will soon travel to Turkey. Turkey also sees much potential in new markets for boycotted products.

Moroccan authorities are urging exporters to seize the opportunities in Russia due to the boycott. “There are currently opportunities to profit from the crisis in Russia, which has resulted in the low rate of the rouble and the low oil prices, in order to promote the export of Moroccan product,” according to a spokesperson of state enterprise Smaex. Opportunities on the Russian market also exist for fruit and vegetable exporters.

In the past days Russian authorities intercepted several batches of illegally imported fruits and vegetables again.

For example, in the Pskov region in western Russia eight lorries from Belarus were stopped. Divided over the lorries the inspectorate found 60 tonnes of peppers, 40 tonnes of tomatoes and 60 tonnes of apples without clear labels on the packaging. The cargo was confiscated.

In Orenburg, southern Russia, lorries from Kazakhstan were taken off the road. The inspectorate found 19.5 tonnes of tomatoes in the lorries which, according to documents, were from Kazakhstan. Upon further inspection of the boxes, the tomatoes appeared to have come from Turkey. The tomatoes were destroyed.

Farther to the east in Irkutsk an entrepreneur was given an unannounced inspection. The inspectorate discovered 2,390 kilograms of Polish apples on the wholesaler’s market. Further documentation for the apples was missing. The fruit was confiscated and destroyed.

In Murmansk in the far north of the country, 105.9 kilograms of Polish apples, 152 kilograms of Polish mushrooms and 21.6 kilograms of Polish leek were discovered during an inspection. The inspection also discovered 22 kilograms of Turkish tomatoes and 4.6 kilograms of Turkish peaches. Even though it concerned only a small volume, the products were destroyed.

In Krasnodar, southern Russia, a batch of Belgian pears was discovered in storage last week. Because the owner of the pears could not be traced, the 808 kilograms of pears were burned.