This is the opinion of the Eurasian Economic Commission. Official Minsk declares the need to control the quality of imported products.
The Eurasian Economic Commission has claimed that the sanitary and hygienic examination of Belarus is a barrier to the goods from other countries. Approximately 150 commodity items are subject to examination. According to the statement, this way Belarus violates the agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union and creates unfair competition in the domestic market.
For a long time, for various reasons, imports of Belarusian food products, mainly meat and dairy products, have been regularly banned. In early February, Rosselkhoznadzor banned the imports from a number of Belarusian enterprises, including Inkofood, Kalinkavichy Meat Processing Plant, Milkavita, Partner and K, and others.
“Obviously, the Russian side is actively using the government to block competitors. And there are many examples of the fact that Belarusian producers are not allowed to enter the Russian market because Russian producers are behind it. In order for this not to happen, it is necessary that a supranational certification body act on the situation,” says economist Yaraslau Ramanchuk.
According to experts, from the very beginning, Belarus has sought to protect its market from external influence. At the same time, the task was to maximize the export of domestic products. And while the country’s leadership is not going to abandon this model, the statement of the Eurasian Economic Commission is Russia’s next maneuver in the so-called cold trade war. And the goals of such actions are usually not economic.
Minsk also explains its actions by the fact that the quality of sanitary and hygienic examination of consumer goods in Russia leaves much to be desired. Therefore, measures were introduced to control the quality of imported products. Mionsk residents have a lot of claims to the quality of the Russian food products.
Residents of Minsk:
“I like our products, from Belarus. I think they are better than Russian ones: even Russians are talking about it.”
“Food in Russia is not very good. Milk, meat — we have more developed industry. And in Russiav it is all full of chemicals basically. I just came from Russia, I tried the milk, for example, I cannot drink it.”
Experts explain that the constant trade conflicts of this kind once again make it clear — in the current form the Eurasian Economic Union does not work.
Accordingly, it is impossible to say when and how the commodity confrontation will end, which is conducted according to specific laws that are not much like a free market.
Zmitser Mitskevich, “Belsat”
