The head of Russia’s Federal Customs Union, Andrei Belyaninov, reported that there has been noticeably fewer instances of illegal food products on the Russian market since August 6, when the directive to destroy smuggled products entered into force.
“The volume of these goods decreased after they started being destroyed. When we began destroying (smuggled products), the heads of border customs authorities started reporting that much of it has stopped because it was a serious financial blow for those companies, who were taking part in such activities (i.e. importing banned food products),” Belyaninov said, as quoted by the publication TASS.
The agency head added that “the volume of destruction has been small but as a preventative measure, it made its point”.