After the bad experience we had with meat export, any attempt to sell foods, fruits or vegetables from the EU to Russia through Serbia will be prevented, said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications Rasim Ljajić.

Moscow’s decision to ban, for one year, the import of fruits, vegetables and other foods from the EU was immediately followed by different calculations, announcements, and even talks about, for example, importing apples from Macedonia and Bulgaria, and then re-exporting them through Serbia to the Russian market, said Ljajić.

“We cannot allow that, because it would compromise the overall export from Serbia to Russia. In order to prevent similar situations our customs administration will be more involved and producers or exporters who try to fraudulently obtain earnings will be most severely punished,” said Ljajić for today’s “Blic”.

He noted that foreigners may establish their companies in Serbia and export to Russia, but that the goods must be of domestic origin.

Lajić confirmed that he will hold a meeting tomorrow with representatives of the fruits industry in Serbia, the Serbian Customs Administration, the Directorate of Plant Protection of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

We have to prevent repackaging, forgery and re-export, but also meet all the sanitation, hygiene, health and other standards which are rigorous. The Russians prepared a new rulebook that has 4000 pages, and clearly lists all the conditions and criteria that must be met, and our producers need to be informed about that, said Ljajić.