Azerbaijan warns French food producers against sanctions

Baku/17.10.23/Turan: From 1 November, restrictions will be applied on imports of high-risk food products from French enterprises that have not applied for export permits to Azerbaijan. The Food Safety Agency of Azerbaijan (FSAA) issued such a warning today.

The agency said in a statement that dozens of French enterprises exporting high-risk foods have not submitted applications for approval to the agency responsible for food safety in Azerbaijan despite repeated warnings.

"In accordance with Articles 20.3 and 24.5 of the Law of the Azerbaijan Republic "On Food Safety", in order to import high-risk animal products into the customs territory of the country, food facilities engaged in the production and processing of these products must be approved by the Agency at the request of the responsible food entities. In order to ensure the implementation of the relevant law, meetings were held with representatives of companies involved in the import of such food products from a number of countries, including France. However, the agency has not received any applications from French companies," FSAA stated.

According to the State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan, in the first eight months of this year, goods of animal origin totalling $2 million were imported from France. -08B-