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Russia reopens its doors to U.S. pork imports
Story Date: 3/8/2010
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Source: MEATINGPLACE.COM, 3/5/10
Russia and the United States have reached an agreement paving the way for shipments of U.S. pork products to resume, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Friday.
USDA and the U.S. Trade Representative's office have been in negotiations with the Russian Veterinary Service since December 2009, when Russia notified USDA it would restrict pork shipments from 13 U.S. pork plants that accounted for more than 90 percent of U.S. pork exports to Russia.
The talks resulted in development of a new veterinary certificate to ensure U.S. pork exports meet specific Russian microbiological and tetracycline-group antibiotic residue requirements, USDA said.
U.S. plants that want to export to Russia must apply for approval with the Agricultural Marketing Service, which has developed an export verification program in collaboration with the Food Safety and Inspection Service to address specific product requirements for pork to Russia.
AMS is expected to approve the first plants as early as next week. FSIS will then provide Russian authorities with a list of approved U.S. pork facilities.
"Exports are extremely important to the U.S. pork industry," Vilsack said. "Reopening the market with Russia, our fifth-largest market last year, is excellent news for American hog producers."
Russia imported $257 million worth of U.S. pork last year. About 20 percent of all U.S. pork production is exported.
Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), chairman of the Senate agriculture committee, issued a statement that said, in part, "Reopening this ... market is an important step toward getting pork producers ... across the country to get back on their feet after being hit hard by the nation's economic downturn. I look forward to working with USDA and USTR, in the coming months, to continue increasing trade opportunities for our agricultural commodities."
Poultry talks continue
A U.S. delegation also has been meeting with Russian officials in Moscow since Monday to discuss trade issues related to poultry, USDA said. U.S. poultry producers have been shut out of the Russian market because of objections to the common U.S. industry practice of rinsing chickens with chlorine.
"Talks on poultry have been constructive and technical discussions will continue in the coming weeks," USDA said.
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