Russia to strengthen control over food supplies from Turkey — Ministry of Agriculture
Russia will strengthen control over food supplies from Turkey and will perform additional border and production checks, the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture said on Thursday.
"The Russian Government authorized Rosselkhoznadzor [federal agricultural supervision agency — TASS] to strengthen control over agricultural products and foods supplies from Turkey and organize additional checks on the border and at production sites in Turkey," the press service said. Measures are introduced in view of repeated violations of Russian standards by Turkish producers, it added.
"About 15% of Turkish agricultural products on average do not meet Russian standards," Minister of Agriculture Alexander Tkachev said. According to the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, Russia imported foods and agricultural products from Turkey in the amount of $1.7 bln in 2014. At the same time, Russian export of foods and agricultural products to Turkey rose by a third in 2014 and totaled $2.4 bln.