The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Processors (VASEP) yesterday quoted a source as saying that Russian agencies would inspect all tra and basa processing workshops that export seafood to the country.
Sergei Dankvert, Chief of Russia's Federal Veterinary Service, late last week announced that early in 2007 the agency would examine all the workshops in Vietnam that were processing seafood for export to Russia.

The agency made the decision after Russian authorities discovered and seized 4,800 batches of fillet fish from Vietnam for which importers had tried to get customs clearance without lawful documents. These were farmed tra and basa (pangasius) shipments.

Statistics showed that in the first nine months of the year, Russia imported 12,400 tonnes of fillet tra and basa (pangasius), an increase of 203% over the same period last year.

Mr Dankvert said that Russian agencies would not apply measures to block trade; however, Russia would only allow the workshops inspected by Russian authorities to export products to the country. He added that Russia had not made any decision on limiting imports of separate batches of goods.

Russia’s Federal Veterinary Service will also take inspection tours of seafood processing workshops in Iceland, Demark and the Netherlands.