Chinese Caviar 'Relabeled' in Russia... "Occupies 40% of the Market"

Importing cheap Chinese products and forging them as Russian-made
Russia calls for "10-fold increase in fines for counterfeiting and smuggling"

In Russia, Chinese-made caviar (sturgeon roe) is being counterfeited as Russian-made and distributed in large quantities.

Chinese Caviar, Made with Genetically Modified Feed and Unsanitary Conditions... Enters Russia with 'Label Switching'

The photo is not directly related to the content of the article. [Image source=Pixabay]

According to the Russian daily Izvestia on the 22nd (local time), Aleksandro Novikov, head of the Russian Sturgeon Farming Association, stated, "Currently, the market share of illegal Chinese caviar in Russia is estimated to be around 40%. Last year, 18.5 tons of caviar were officially imported from China to Russia, and all these products were relabeled and sold as Russian-made."

He added, "Besides official imports, Chinese caviar also enters Russia through smuggling. The volume smuggled is 1.5 to 2 times greater than the legal amount."

Furthermore, he emphasized, "If imported products are sold as Russian-made, they are counterfeit and must be withdrawn from circulation and destroyed according to the law. If Russian consumers knew that the caviar was Chinese-made, 95% would refuse to purchase it."

In particular, local Russian sources claim that Chinese sturgeon farms use feed containing genetically modified ingredients for sturgeon farming.

Additionally, the media pointed out that hundreds of small-scale sturgeon farms in China currently operate in unsanitary environments.

Price Only One-Tenth of Russian Caviar... Calls to "Increase Counterfeit Fines Tenfold"

According to the Public Commission under the Russian Consumer Rights Protection and Welfare Supervision Agency, the price of Chinese caviar is only about one-tenth that of Russian caviar.

For this reason, Russian companies purchase cheap Chinese caviar through illegal and various other channels, counterfeit it as Russian-made, and resell it at high prices.

There is growing demand locally to strengthen penalties related to product counterfeiting and smuggling.

Sergei Lisovski, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma Competition Protection Committee, said, "Currently, fines related to counterfeiting and smuggling are 5,000 rubles (about 70,000 won) for individuals and 300,000 to 500,000 rubles (about 4 million to 7 million won) for corporations, which cannot eradicate (counterfeiting and smuggling). I propose increasing the fines tenfold."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.