Ministry press secretary Ivars Lasis told LETA that there was no such agreement governing fish trade to speak of, rather that there were veterinary certificates for food exports, including those needing extensions, which are the responsibility of the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) under the Agriculture Ministry.
Lasis regretted the spread of the false and unverified information to the media as “blatant lies” committed by the Latvian Fish Processing Industry Association.
Meanwhile the PVD on its website released an explanatory statement indicating that China’s responsible authorities have notified them of changes in the certification process as of this month and that new export certificate forms needed to be drawn up by their side. These have now been approved by the Latvian side and sent back for approval for printing up.
The PVD also announced that Agriculture Minister Janis Duklavs and PVD general director Maris Balodis would head a Latvian food business delegation to China for a working visit to meet with their counterparts to discuss not just fish, but also dairy and meat product exports there. The visit is scheduled from May 3-7.
