MOSCOW, June 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian officials have extended until October 1 the term of import permits for Ukrainian food products certified by the neighbouring state's veterinary service and destined for Crimea and the peninsula's Sevastopol city.

State inspectors Rosselkhoznadzor have prolonged permission under current rules to avoid food shortages on Crimean territory. Crimea and Sevastopol are the only permitted destinations allowed, an agency statement said on Thursday.

Rosselkhoznadzor had announced it would toughen clearance requirements for inbound Ukrainian food imports to Crimea and Sevastopol starting on July 1, measures designed to prevent hazardous products crossing the border.

This introduced a requirement for documentary evidence that raw materials used for exported products met standards effective inside Russia and within the Customs Union comprising Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Between June 12 and June 15, Rosselkhoznadzor specialists discovered more than 100 tonnes of counterfeit products shipped from Ukraine to Crimea. These included batches of pork, butter, seafood, ice cream and sausage alongside live piglets and calves.