Will illegal import be forced to take off the mask?

November 24, 2014 20:13

Ukrainian crisis and the subsequent sanctions resulted in a series of global changes on the international scene — from the alignment of political forces to the logistics of supply chain.

In September, the State Customs Committee (SCC) recorded a sharp increase in the import of prohibited goods from the EU to Belarus, and from Belarus they were transferred later to Russia under other labels. Thus, during only the first month of sanctions foreign shipments of fruit and vegetables has doubled, and those of dairy products has raised in 117 times! At the same time, according to the Federal Customs Service (FCS), indicators of Belarusian exports are much more modest, moreover, they have been declining.

Commenting on the situation, profile experts have mentioned several reasons why the data of the Russian and Belarusian customs vary constantly. The main reason is the fact that Belarus defines all products sent outside the country as export, and according to Russian import rules, import is credited to the country of origin. In terms of sanctions it became unprofitable for companies to disclose the actual manufacturers, so foreign trade is gradually disappearing into the shadows, explain experts.

Not only customs, but also representatives of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (Rosselkhoznadzor) responsible for product quality are interested in the prevention of this process. Since mid-August, regular inspections are held in vegetable markets and distribution centers, and there are six phytosanitary posts on the Russian border. In an average day their employees inspect 50 trucks.

General statistics is as follows: 90 000 tonnes of cargo have been checked during last three months, 72% of which was produced or cleared through customs in Belarus. High percentage of goods were also transported from Turkey, Macedonia and Israel. Violations were identified in 213 from 5660 the parties, in 80% of cases there were no phytosanitary certificates and the necessary markings. The most common problems were encountered in the documentation of the state company "Beltamozhservice", the most serious violations were recorded during the inspection of potatoes, beets and carrots.

The EU countries invented another way for the export of banned products — a false transit in Kazakhstan: a large part of the cargo does not reach this country and, “settling" on Russian vegetable bases. Despite the fact that checking instances are already aware of this scheme, illegal deliveries continue as due to objective reasons this is extremely difficult to trace the entire supply chain.

It is hoped that effective tools for increasing the transparency of logistics processes will be found soon and the smuggling of goods stops.