Hello.

Most of main information a foreign businessman needs in order to work on the Russian food market is freely available on the Russian Internet. The Russian governmental policy is maximum openness.

Therefore, in this my post I will tell you about main Russian governmental websites you will need as a foreign company if you want to enter the Russian food market or already work here. It will help you avoid intermediary services that charge you for what you can find out for free.

The first thing you will deal with when entering the Russian food market is Russian Veterinary Service, abbreviated Rosselkhoznadzor (www.fsvps.ru). It is the governmental body in Russia that controls products imported to Russia. You can choose your country on the website, category of your food products and see which companies are allowed to work with Russia.

Next is the Federal Customs Service of Russia (www.customs.ru). Here you can find out everything about customs duties for importing your products to Russia and about customs rules and procedures in Russia.

Federal Tax Service of Russia (www.nalog.ru). You will need this website both at the beginning of your work with the Russian markets and later when you get a permanent job and contracts. This website is the main source of information on taxes.

Official internet portal of legal information (www.pravo.fso.gov.ru). All Russian laws and legal documents are published here.

Unified Federal Register of Bankruptcy Information (www.fedresurs.ru). It contains basic data about each legal entity in Russia. Here you can check your potential partners in Russia.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia (www.mid.ru). You can write your message to them if you have a question or need help.

Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (www.mvd.ru). It is responsible for all questions of internal security in Russia. It has an English version of the website. It should be addressed if a crime happens. This ministry is also responsible for working with migrants and foreign nationals.

Federal Security Service, FSB (www.fsb.ru). It is responsible for especially important crimes against the state system of Russia. Large foreign businesses operating in Russia that face corruption or are in danger from criminals can get defense here.

Ministry of Agriculture of Russia (www.mcx.ru). You need this website if your business in Russia is associated with agriculture industry.

Russian Federal Fisheries Agency (www.fishcom.ru). If your business in Russia is associated with fish and seafood.

Federal Service for Consumer Protection, abbreviated Rospotrebnadzor (www.rospotrebnadzor.ru). It is this body that will check food products in Russian stores, and it is here that customers complain if they were sold a low-quality product or were cheated on their purchase. This is a very serious supervising authority and it checks without warning. Try to comply with all regulation and not to conflict with Rospotrebnadzor.

Federal Service for Alcohol Market Regulation (www.fsrar.ru). All issues related to the production, export, import and sale of alcohol in Russia are dealt by this authority. If you are involved in the alcohol market in Russia, you need to know this website.

The most important one – the website of the President of Russia (www.kremlin.ru). There is an electronic reception desk which you can use to officially contact the President of the Russian Federation. Any message is registered and is always given an answer.

There are a lot of different ministries and departments in Russia. There are also websites of regional authorities in every single region of Russia. So, all your questions will be answered, and you can resolve most of your possible problems on the Russian food market. Most importantly, you can easily do it yourself using these websites.

You can read many more useful insights about the Russian food market in my new book “Your first 50 right steps to enter the Russian food market”.