MINSK, May 1. /TASS/. Belarus wants to send its inspectors to Russian agricultural companies, the country’s agriculture minister told the Belarus-1 TV, commenting on a series of Russia’s inspections at Belarusian factories and farms.
"We also want to visit Russian enterprises, including dairy companies, to see how work is organized there. However, there have been no invitations or proposals from the Russian side so far," Leonid Zayats said late on Sunday.
The statement came as a response to a series of inspections, organized by Russia’s agriculture watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor after Moscow imposed restrictions on imports of Belarusian products. From April 5 to 13, Russian inspectors visited 17 companies, two of them were allowed to resume exports to Russia. A dozen more companies will be inspected in early May.
"The remaining eneterprises will be inspected by Rosselkhoznadzor representatives to determine whether they should be allowed to resume exports of their products to the Russian market. We are waiting for Rosselkhoznadzor’s decision and hope for understanding," the minister said.
"We will continue working with the services that have cooperated with us and we would like them to listen to their partners, the Republic of Belarus," he added.
In the summer of 2016, the Russian watchdog banned imports of products from a number of Belarusian dairy enterprises. The head of the Rosselkhoznadzor Sergey Dankvert said then that Belarusian products were often shipped with false documents. The Russian authorities asked Minsk to provide comprehensive information on the measures taken against 56 Belarusian companies where inspections had revealed hazardous substances in food products in the period from June 6 to July 31, 2016.