The flow of counterfeit goods to Russia from China could increase following the creation of a customs union between Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, a Russian customs official said on Thursday.

Federal Customs Service department chief Oleg Ashurkov said the problem was that "China has a free economic zone on its border with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan."

Customs control will be moved to the union's external borders: the Belarusian border from July 1, 2010 and the Kazakh border from July 1, 2011. This means Russian customs will be unable to prevent illicit imports on the Russian border.

Ashurkov offered no estimate of how much the inflow of fake Chinese goods would increase.

At present counterfeit goods - both imported goods and goods illegally manufactured in Russia by Chinese and Vietnamese workers - account for 30% to 40% of Russia's overall domestic trade.

MOSCOW, March 25 (RIA Novosti)