Vadim Smirnov, deputy head of the Kaliningrad office for Rosselkhoznadzor, said smugglers were studying new ways to ship meat products to Russia illegally.
“For example, some suppliers sheathe the body of the trucks inside with foil to circumvent the X-ray machines,” said Smirnov. “This has really complicated the work of customs officers in recent months.
“In 2015 so far, Rosselkhoznadzor has seen a significant increase in the volume of smuggling of meat and agricultural products from EU countries.
“The average size of the illegal shipment is about 1.5 to 2 tonnes (t). Since the beginning of the year, Customs officers in the Kaliningrad Oblast alone detected 330 attempts to illegally import animal products.”
Meanwhile, on the mainland Russian smugglers are importing larger quantities of meat. For example, on 12 June, Rosselkhoznadzor found 28t of pork production from Dutch company Egbert Kruiswijk Vleesproducten BV in a container at St Petersburg’s commercial port.
Switzerland and Iceland may face restrictions
Much of the smuggling of EU meat products into Russia takes place under the guise of products from Switzerland and Iceland.
On 7 July, Rosselkhoznadzor identified a major smuggling channel, discovering that EU meat, under the guise of Swiss products, was being supplied via Lithuania.
Russia has been supplied with 1,800t of meat through this channel, since the beginning of the year, claimed the veterinary authority.
In addition, a check on veterinary certificates for products supplied from Iceland found that, out of 40 certificates since the beginning of the year, 39 were faked.
“Rosselkhoznadzor is currently considering the need to close off the supply of products [from Iceland] through the EU, given the numerous cases of forgery in the accompanying documents,” commented Rosselkhoznadzor secretary Yulia Melano.
Rosselkhoznadzor has also complained about the apparent lack of desire from European authorities to assist in curbing the illicit transfer of goods into the country. Late last year, the Russian regulator requested help from Interpol to combat smuggling, but in the end it did not get any real assistance, it claimed.
Conflict of laws
At the end of June 2015 the Arbitration Court of St Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast took the decision to recognise as legitimate any trading of products from the sanction list that were already inside the country.
In practice, this means that when illegal products cross the border they become legal and regulatory authorities are unable to fine retailers for selling them.
Experts said this precedent was likely to cause a hike in meat smuggling, as retailers would welcome prohibited products on their grocery shelves.
“It turns out that the goods, once supplied to the store, can be sold to customers and, in this situation, retailers are not violating any laws,” said Alex Linetskiy, chairman of the Moscow Legal Agency.
“Yet the origin of goods coming into the Russian Federation can be very confusing. And we know that, now, many countries are re-exporting goods from European countries.
“It turns out that the sanctions imposed by the Russian government do not always work. It will be corrected somehow in our legislation in the near future - probably in the form of a separate government decree. But at the moment it turns out that we have a huge gap in registration, and regulatory authorities don’t know what to do if they find the prohibited products on the shelves.”