The Food and Veterinary Service (PVS) inspected 49,090 commodity shipments at the external border checkpoints of the European Union (EU) at the Latvian border in the first nine months of this year, which is 15.5% less compared to the same period last year when 58,093 shipments were inspected, reported LETA, citing the director of the PVS border control department, Iveta Shice-Trede.
According to aggregated data, in the first nine months of this year, 181 shipments were rejected, 102 shipments were returned to the exporting country, 47 shipments were destroyed, and 32 shipments were redirected for processing or use for other purposes.
Among the inspected shipments, 21,476 were animal products, 12,066 were other food products, 9,708 were shipments subject to phytosanitary control (including 982 shipments of fresh fruits and vegetables that passed quality control), 2,315 were shipments of animal feed and feed additives, 2,054 were shipments of live animals, and 489 were shipments of non-food products.
Shice-Trede also noted that in 50 cases, non-compliance with safety criteria established by the EU was identified through laboratory methods. Among them, 15 samples came from Russia, 10 from Uzbekistan, six from Belarus, four each from Afghanistan and India, three from Egypt, and one each from Turkey, Iran, Ecuador, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Ukraine, China, and Kyrgyzstan.
The number of shipments and, consequently, inspections has decreased due to both EU sanctions against Russia and changes in international trade and logistics routes. Additionally, the reduction in the number of inspections is related to a national ban in Latvia that prohibits the import of agricultural products and feed from Russia and Belarus, as well as agricultural products and feed originating from these countries but arriving from other third countries.
The decrease is also linked to the enhanced control introduced in Latvia to prevent health risks and suspicions of non-compliance of shipments from Russia and Belarus with established requirements.
As previously reported, in the first half of this year, the PVS inspected 30,708 commodity shipments, which is 21% less compared to the same period last year when 38,924 shipments were inspected.
The PVS is a government agency under the Ministry of Agriculture that carries out state supervision and control in the field of food circulation and veterinary medicine.
