Russian veterinary experts are to carry out inspections of export enterprises in Greece on April 20 in a move which is seen as being designed to “speed up” the resumption of trade links with Russia once the country’s EU food import ban is lifted.
News of the planned inspections was released by Russia’s veterinary and phytosanitary surveillance service, Rosselkhoznadzor, alongside several photographs of a recent meeting between Russian and Greek officials in Moscow.
“The basic subject of our dialogue was a discussion of the issues surrounding the forthcoming inspection of Greek plants which manufacture products of animal origin and are interested in exporting their products into Russia,” said Rosselkhoznadzor.
The official statement also reported that Greece’s losses to date, due to “measures introduced by Russia” amounted to about 200 million dollars (£135m).
This was followed by a Rosselkhoznadzor warning that “for a number of reasons” it will be pretty difficult for European manufacturers to get back into the Russian market.
This, it was explained, was due largely to the “fast development of internal production” which had taken place in Russia in recent months, a process which has yielded a reported “diversification and improvement” of the quality of the goods involved.
In addition to the launching of the inspections in Greece, Russian officials also named Hungary and Cyprus as being on their list for early attention regardiing a rapid revival of trading links.Â