Russia-Talks with United States over quota cuts for meat and poultry.

RUSSIA-CONCERNS OVER POULTRY MEAT HEALTH.

Russia seem to be using many ploys to cover up the fat they have no money to buy meat, these are either banning plants from the export list or finding problems in documentation.

Reality shows that the cash flow in Russia has dried up so much that they have borrowed US$25 billion from China selling oil at discount low prices. The Russian meat industry is at best third world standard, yet in the last year they have banned meat from 167 world class meat plants, located in 14 different countries.

Representatives of Federal Agency for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor), competent American agencies, Russian importers and American exporters will held a round table meeting in March-April, where the issues on American poultry product import safety will be discussed, as it is said in the message of the Russian agency.

In September 2008 Federal Supervision Agency for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare (Rospotrebnadzor) imposed a ban on poultry supply from American enterprises, which used chorine in poultry processing. The license issuing was resumed only from December 30, after signing of the protocol to the agreement on meat trade between Russia and the USA, which foresaw reduction of import quotas and actually forbidden duties for poultry and pork imports out of quota.

Quota for chicken meat imports to Russia in 2009 amounts to 952 thousand tons (compared to 1.252 million tons in 2008), therewith, the share of the USA within the quota volume totals to 750 thousand tons.

Pursuant to the customs statistics data, in January 2009 Russia has reduced meat import volume except for poultry to 37.3 thousand tons from 94.1 thousand tons in January 2008. Poultry imports have been down from 76.5 thousand tons to 22.7 thousand tons.