Russia's agricultural watchdog appears to be taking a more pragmatic approach to the issue of food re-exports via European Union countries, amid regular interceptions of produce cargo with suspected counterfeit paperwork.

According to website Fruitnews.ru, Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) head Sergey Dankvert said it was part of the agency's future plans to make prior notification obligatory for the re-export of products through the European Union.

Since August last year the country has banned food imports from the EU, Norway, the U.S., Canada and Australia, but many nations outside the embargo often send their fruit and vegetables to Russia after first arriving at major European ports like Rotterdam and Hamburg.

However, the proliferation of the "gray market" trade has been evident. As a recent example of attempted fraudulent re-exports, a 19-metric ton (MT) kiwifruit consignment labeled as from Chile was blocked en route to Moscow from Minsk in April.

Shortly after the incident, Rosselkhoznadzor banned all re-exports via Bulgaria and threatened to take similar actions against other EU countries.

Fruitnews.ru reported experts as saying the more recently announced measure of notifications would determine the authenticity of certificates provided by producing countries.

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