Riga - The Latvian Embassy in Moscow issued a diplomatic
note to the Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday over a ban on the
import of Latvian canned fish.
'In the note, Russia is invited to raise its groundless barriers
to the import of preserved fish from Latvia... Latvia hopes that in
the future, Russia's demands will be clear, well-grounded and fair to
both local and foreign producers,' a ministry statement read.
The note is the latest blow in a dispute over Latvian exports of
canned smoked fish - a popular delicacy in Russia. Last October
Moscow banned imports from several producers, claiming that their
fish contained excess levels of the carcinogen benzopyrene.
Latvian producers accused Russia of protecting its own canning
industry, saying that Russian canned sprats are as saturated with
benzopyrene as are Latvian ones.
Last week a St Petersburg laboratory gave samples of Latvian
sprats a clean bill of health, with news wires reporting that the
Russian Customs service had been ordered to lift the ban. The reports
have not been enough to assuage Latvia's wrath, however.
'Despite information published in the media to the effect that the
Russian Customs service has lifted the ban... the Latvian side has
not yet received confirmation from Russian Customs service
officials,' the press release said.
The fish industry is one of Latvia's main export sectors. Total
exports in 2005 were valued at 55 million lats (101.3 million
dollars), of which over half went to Russia.
Fish export companies say that in November and December 2006,
their exports to Russia totalled only 10 per cent of the value of the
same period in 2005, the Leta news agency reported.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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