Five EU countries ready to supply vegetables to Russia - Onishchenko
MOSCOW. June 24 (Interfax) - Five EU countries, including the Netherlands and Poland, said they are ready to resume the supply of fresh vegetables to Russia, Russian Chief Sanitary Inspector Gennady Onishchenko said.
"We now only have countries that have stated their wish [to supply vegetables], but have not received permission yet. The first countries to state their wish were the Netherlands, Poland, and Denmark. There are five countries all in all," he told a press conference in Moscow on Friday. The other two countries are Germany and Spain.
"There are 28 countries in the EU and only five of them have thought and said 'Yes, we are ready to comply with the requirements.' They have given us the names of the laboratories and the names of their authorities," Onishchenko said.
"However, no permits have been issued yet," he said.
"We have not even provided the certificate form to our customs authorities, and they are allowing the import [of vegetables] through the border," Onishchenko said.
"There is no immediate, unconditional [permission of import]," Onishchenko said.
According to earlier reports, Russia and the EU have reached an agreement on a certificate that will confirm the safety of European vegetables.
Onishchenko told Interfax this week that vegetables can only be imported into Russia with a special certificate stating three parameters: the origin of the product, a guarantee provided by the appropriate authorities of the country of origin, and a guarantee that the product does not contain intestinal infection.
Onishchenko told a press conference on Wednesday that the supply of vegetables from the EU may resume before the end of June. 'I'm not going to guess, but I don't see any big problems here," he said.