Russian authorities do not appear convinced a recent Polish apple shipment coming from Belarus was meant for sale in Kazakhstan, as gray market suspicions continue to dominate border control policy.

Some 19 metric tons (MT) of Polish apples - banned for sale in Russia under the country's EU-wide produce import embargo - were blocked on April 4 by the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor).

The shipment reportedly had documentation saying its final destination would be Kazakhstan.

Land shipments must generally pass through Russia from Belarus in order to reach the Central Asian country, and the 2010 Eurasian Customs Union (EACU) led to the removal of customs borders between the three countries.

Armenia and Kyrgyzstan also joined the EACU in January 2015.

A statement on the Rosselkhoznadzor website did not say whether the apples were destroyed or returned.

Various other Polish apple shipments have been intercepted at the country's border in recent weeks, with 20MT blocked on March 26 and later destroyed in a landfill site, and 58MT discovered a few days earlier.

In addition, on April 1 Rosselkhoznadzor published information saying 50MT of cabbages and cucumbers of unknown origin had been intercepted that was being transported into Russia from Kazakhstan.

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