At the initiative of the Armenian side, negotiations were held Monday in Moscow between the head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) of Russia, Sergey Dankvert, and the head of the Food Safety Inspection Body of Armenia, Armen Hayrapetyan, reports the press service of Rosselkhoznadzor.

According to the results of an inspection, an insufficient level of state monitoring over the supply of dairy products from Armenia to Russia was found. As a result, Rosselkhoznadzor had petitioned to the veterinary service of Armenia with a request to stop the supply of dairy products to Russia.

Hayrapetyan said that he carefully studied the inspection report of Rosselkhoznadzor, where a number of critical problems were revealed in monitoring the supply of dairy products from Armenia to Russia.

Deficiencies in the monitoring system have enabled Armenian companies to export products made from Iranian raw materials, which do not have a trade license with Russia. As a result, in 2022, Armenia increased vegetable oil supplies ten times. Such schemes disrupt the competitive environment not only in the Russian market, but also introduce an imbalance in the economic activity of the EAEU.

Dankvert emphasized that Russia is fully provided with dairy products which are produced in all regions of the country and exported to foreign markets, and may be interested in acquiring authentic products made exclusively from Armenian raw materials for Armenian cuisine.

In order to settle the created situation and to restore the previous level of trust between the relevant departments of Armenia and Russia, the parties agreed to carry out a phased work. Accordingly, Armenia will inspect its milk processing companies and send Rosselkhoznadzor lists of those companies that can meet the Russian requirements. In turn, Rosselkhoznadzor will inspect them and, based on the results, will make a decision about whether to enter into trade with Russia.