Russian food safety agency Rosselkhoznadzor has imposed a ban on meat imports from Montenegro citing illegal export practices.
The agency claimed that the EU is allegedly smuggling its meat to Russia under labels of Montenegro, TASS reported.
Rosselkhoznadzor head Alexey Alexeyenko said: "Illegal re-exports of meat products from European Union countries are the main cause for the ban."
According to the food safety agency, meat product imports from Montenegro have recently increased significantly in volumes, which the country could not produce by itself.
Montenegro's meat product deliveries to Russia mainly included pork and pork products.
"Montenegro was not a major player on the market of imported meat products. The ban will not do harm to the range of imported products," Alexeyenko added.
Russia has imposed ban on food imports from the EU, the US and some other western countries, in response to sanctions imposed over Ukraine.
