October 1 2015, 14:31 BelTA

Papaya import from Belarus to Russia explained

After the session of the Council of Ministers of the Union State of Belarus and Russia in Moscow on 29 September Prime Minister of Belarus Andrei Kobyakov explained how papaya fruits are transported from Belarus to Russia, BelTA has learned.

The Prime Minister reminded that both countries are part of the common customs territory. “If the supplier decides that from the logistical point of view it is more profitable to transport tropical products via the Belarusian customs warehouse, I can see nothing illegal about that,” said Andrei Kobyakov. The official stressed that unified customs regulations are enforced across the Eurasian Economic Union. “The countries affected by the Russian food embargo do not make these products — kiwi fruits and papaya fruits.

This is why it is absolutely obvious that these products are not subject to the sanctions and enter the territory of the Republic of Belarus absolutely legally,” said Andrei Kobyakov. In response to mass media reports criticizing Belarusian shrimps and sea fish Andrei Kobyakov told their authors to carefully read customs regulations. “If a product is subjected to a certain degree of processing inside Belarus, then it is considered made in the Customs Union. Such a product is then sold across the entire Customs Union in an absolutely legal manner,” stressed the Prime Minister of Belarus.