Russian vets agreed to simplify seafood importation regime for Latvia

Food and Veterinary Service of Latvia and Rosselkhoznadzor (Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance) signed an agreement simplifying importation of Latvian seafood to Russia, reports www.fishnet-russia.com (www.fishnet.ru) with reference to biznews.

According to the agreement, compliance of the Latvian seafood with the Russian veterinary requirements shall be controlled by Food and Veterinary Service of Latvia, not by the Russian vet inspectors. Latvian producers shall now inform their national Service about their plans for shipments to Russia and the Service's inspectors shall check them accordingly for compliance with the Russian requirements. If the results of the check are positive, products made by the Latvian producers will gain access to the Russian food market and the plants will be enlisted as approved exporters.

Before the agreement, Latvian products were checked exclusively by the Russian control bodies.