Following rejected Russian requests to run inspections at Polish canned fish manufacturers, Russia has banned the importation of Polish canned fish products. 

The food watchdog in Russia, Rosselkhoznadzor, stated that some Polish firms agreed with the inspection request. It added that the ban on canned food is in line with Eurasian Economic Union’s regulations.

The affect of the decision is said to be negligible on the Polish canned food industry, which is worth nearly €200 million a year. Only a small fraction of this is exported to Russia.

However, the decision has been seen as yet another political move in the war of sanctions between Russia and Western countries.

In the past, decisions made by Rosselkhoznadzor impacting the west and western companies have been timed suspiciously. Last year, they made the decision to close the flagship McDonalds restaurant in Moscow. It was deemed highly political, as it was during the beginning of the imposition of Russian sanctions against Western food products.

Poland now sells 90% of its fish products to the European Union, and has largely balanced out trade losses made from other sanctions on the country’s fish products to Russia.