Did Kazakhstani peppers fall under sanctions?

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There is no reliable evidence that destroyed vegetables at the Russian customs were grown in Kazakhstan ...

Mass media of Kazakhstan is thrilled by the news about the destruction of 13 tons of bell peppers - "traffic light" at the Russian customs.

It all started with the fact that on August 11 at the official website of "Rosselkhoznadzor" was posted information about the seizure and destruction of 13 tonnes of vegetables imported from the territory of Kazakhstan.

"On 8^th of August 2015 specialists of Rosselkhoznadzor of Tyumen region, KhMAD and YNAO revealed the import of prohibited products (bell peppers) onto the territory of the Russian Federation through the checkpoint "Kazan" in the amount of 13 tons", - the report indicates. - "It is established that regulated products of unknown origin were partially packed in containers with inappropriate labels, partially loaded in bulk, has been imported from the Republic of Kazakhstan. No supporting phytosanitary documents were provided for vegetables, certifying the origin of these products ... In accordance with the Rules approved by the Government Decree of RF, dated by 31.07.2015 # 774, all banned products were destroyed. The transporter was subject to administrative punishment in the form of an administrative fine".

This information lacked the slightest reference to Kazakhstan, as a country of origin. There is no mention that the vegetables were transported by Kazakhstani transporters.

Later more detailed information from Rosselkhoznadzor was accumulated. Media, without citing sources, shared "the details". It turned out that in addition to bell peppers were destroyed 350 "sugar" watermelons, and that allegedly the same happened to the Kazakh products at the customs point in Smolensk.

The situation was blown up mainly by the extreme activities of the representatives of the Russian government agency, which earlier destroyed "sanctioned" cheeses and other products, manufactured in Europe and the United States. After all this information, a Kazakh reader would believe in anything. That is what was expected.

The Department of Customs Administration of the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs "Atameken" treated with skepticism information on destruction of peppers. In the end, the movement of goods across the border of a sovereign state, which is a member state of the Customs Union, without title documents, is a violation. In addition, NCE has not yet received any appeal from the Kazakh shipper or a shipping company.

Neither the Committee on agriculture and phytosanitary control, nor the Committee on Consumer Protection under the Ministry of Economy of Kazakhstan received any complaint of the kind. Although Rosselkhoznadzor was obliged to inform its experts about the incident in the first place. The service of weight control of the Transport Committee of the Ministry of Investment Development also hasn’t heard about Kazakh trucks with vegetable produce, heading towards the border with Russia.

Scant information didn’t allow experts to the Chamber of Entrepreneurs "Atameken" to make any conclusions. The fate of bell peppers is sad. But note that health care is a priority for any nation. By the way, recently the news agency Tengrinews, referring to the chief specialist of the unit of sanitary and hygienic control of food objects of the Department of Consumer Protection of Astana Shinbaeva Saule, told the readers that in 2014 the capital's sanitary-epidemiological service destroyed over 80 tons of food. As the report indicates, "the cause of the destruction of the products is expiration date or lack of supporting documents".

However, being puzzled by the current situation and the hypothetical possibility that the sanctions of the Russian regulatory authorities can somehow hurt the interests of domestic entrepreneurs, experts of NCE sent a letter to all the concerned ministries, asking to inform the Chamber about such situations. If necessary, "Atameken" is ready to defend the interests of domestic exporters, operating in the legal field.