Source  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 1/4/10

The United States and Russia are slated to meet mid-January to resolve a row over U.S. poultry imports, according to a Reuters report quoting a top Russian official on Sunday.

The talks follow Moscow's implementation on Jan. 1 of a ban on imports of poultry treated with chlorine to kill pathogens. The move effectively blocked all imports of U.S. poultry into Russia.

Gennady Onishchenko, Russia's chief sanitary official, is quoted as saying he hoped a compromise would result from the talks in Moscow. He said he agreed to discuss the issue after productive telephone conversations with James Miller, USDA's undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services.

"An American delegation will arrive here January 17 to solve the problem on an expert level," Miller reportedly told a Russian radio station.

"A one hour and a half conversation with Mr. Miller has inspired me with emotional optimism," he added, according to Reuters.

Moscow considers chlorine a health hazard, while Washington has said Russia's ban is unwarranted because chlorine is a safe and effective antimicrobial supported by science.

Onishchenko said the two sides would cover topics including shipments of U.S. poultry already headed to Russian ports on the Baltic Sea.

"If it is a reasonable amount — not accounting to semi-annual or annual stockpiles — then of course (we will clear their imports)," Onishchenko is quoted as saying.

U.S. officials estimate that nearly 30,000 metric tons of poultry already is bound for Russia.

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