Vegetables Railroaded
// Railroad refuses to let vegetables into Russia
Canned vegetables have not been imported into Russia since the beginning of the week. Russian Railways is refusing to allow perishable goods into the country in ordinary railcars, and canned vegetables are considered perishable. Canned vegetable imports into Russia are worth $1.2 billion per year. The most popular vegetables, peas and corn, may be in short supply by next month. Eighty percent of the canned vegetables eaten by Russians are imported. Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Serbia are the main exporters to Russia, making up 45 percent of the total.
Canned vegetables were classified as perishables in April of last year but the railroad was allowing them to be shipped in ordinary car in exchange for a letter of understanding that the railroad would not be accountable for any spoilage that occurred. The Russian Railways press service explained that the new stricter policy is due to the cold weather. “Climatic conditions are completely ceased to correspond to storage conditions,” a spokesman said. The decision has left importers in dire straits, with carloads of products stalled at the Russian border.
Ulterior motives are suspected in the railroad's decision. Some speculate that the Federal Customs Service is about to impose a 30-percent duty on imported peas and corn, which make up about 45 percent of imports, and imports are being delayed until the new, higher duty is imposed. Others think that the railroad is looking out for the interests of its subsidiary Refservis, which owns about 80 percent of the refrigerated railcars in Russia, about 11,000. Importers say that shipping them in refrigerated cars would raise the price of canned vegetables by 45 percent. Russian Railways denies any hidden motives. “There is a law On the Quality and Safety of Food Products' that requires us to guarantee the preservation and quality of food products at delivery,” a railways spokesman explained.
by
Svetlana Mentyukova
All the Article in Russian as of Jan. 27, 2006
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