Think about Russia, not about jamon: producers justified the ban on private import of products

A ban on the private import of food from abroad due to the danger of African swine fever (ASF) still remains on the agenda: the Ministry of Agriculture is considering the initiative of the National Meat Association, Forbes reported . The producers insist that the ban is in the interests of Russia, and will not bring them additional profit.

Quote. “Jamon is to be eaten in Spain, bresaola in Italy, parmesan in France. If I need something in Russia, I go and buy local products ... The public needs to think about the development of their own country, and not about jamon and parmesan, which is what we do all the time. They threw a tantrum out of nothing, balabols, ”said Viktor Linnik, president of Miratorg, to the publication.

• Veterinarians should have initiated, and Rosselkhoznadzor and the Ministry of Agriculture should have banned the private import of products, Linnik believes. That this has not yet been done is a mistake.
• The ban will bring the industry a "huge" effect in terms of production safety, in terms of profit - zero.

Miratorg is Russia's largest pork producer. In 2017, he lost about 500 million rubles from the ASF epidemic in the Belgorod region.

The founder of the Dymov group, Vadim Dymov, recalled that the threat of ASF is real: in many countries, prices for meat products are already rising.

Read also The Russians have prepared a ban on the import of jamon and parmesan

Context. The National Meat Association considers the uncontrolled importation of animal products by tourists as an important channel for the spread of ASF (through food waste). Therefore, she insists that it needs to be blocked. According to the Ministry of Agriculture , Russia's direct losses from ASF since the beginning of its penetration into the country in 2007 amounted to 1 million livestock and 5 billion rubles, indirect losses - tens of billions of rubles. Rosselkhoznadzor estimated total losses for the same period at 75 billion rubles.

The government will not introduce new restrictions for citizens, Interfax reported, citing a source in the government.