Russia's crackdown on the gray trade in EU-grown food continues, with its food safety watchdog threatening to ban imports of Serbian produce if the Balkan nation fails to control illegal consignments. 

Some risk-taking traders have found opportunity in Russia's ban on food imports from sanctioning countries - particularly EU member states - by mislabeling produce items to skirt regulations.

A recent Freshfel report shows that between August and November last year, the EU's produce exports skyrocketed to several nations where some traders are suspected of the practice - Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia and Kazakhstan.

And as food prices soar, driven not just by the ban but also a drastic fall in the value of the ruble, many retailers are paying even less attention than before when it comes to country of origin labeling.

While the gray trade is tough to contain, Russia’s Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) is not taking the matter lightly. Just last week, a 58.5 metric ton (MT) shipment of Polish apples was intercepted at the Kazakhstan border, while warnings have also been made in the past to Belarus, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Switzerland.

"We suspect that, very likely, there is a re-export [from Serbia]. Most probably, these are the Polish apples," Rosselkhoznadzor press secretary Yulia Trofimova told agency RIA Novosti.

She told the agency that if the respective Serbian authorities failed to reply within 10 days of the warning, a ban on all Serbian fruit and vegetable imports was likely.

Website B92.net reported Serbia's apple exports to Russia had increased 48%, and that Serbian Trade Minister Rasim Ljajic announced a meeting with Russian issues yesterday morning, saying "we have no reason to hide anything from the Russians".

"No possibility should be ruled out in advance, and whatever information we obtain, we will tell our partners," Ljajic was quoted as saying.

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