MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) said Wednesday it was planning to hold technical consultations with Latvian colleagues on fish imports.
"Relevant Latvian bodies, after preliminary consultations, immediately began fixing the discovered violations, and on July 23 submitted to Rosselkhoznadzor commentaries to the preliminary report," the agricultural watchdog said in a statement.
"In the week starting on August 3, we are planning to hold technical consultations with our Latvian colleagues," the statement said.
Russia’s agricultural watchdog says the restrictions were prompted by the Baltic nations’ persistent violations of sanitary requirements, discovered during several routine inspections, as well as by the presence of banned harmful additives in imported seafood products.
In return, Latvian officials accused Moscow of applying political pressure in the Baltic region. Latvian Agricultural Minister Janis Duklavs estimated in June 2015 that his country’s fishing industry could sustain losses of up to $225 million in missed exports to Russia.
