Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 4/14/10

U.S. government and poultry industry officials said they have agreed to a new approach on talks to resolve a trade dispute with Russia over its ban on U.S. chicken, but they've offered no details of yet.

A memorandum the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council (USAPEEC) sent to its members late last week, as included in a note JP Morgan analyst Ken Goldman sent to investors Tuesday, said USDA and USTR officials briefed USAPEEC and National Chicken Council (NCC) leaders on a new development in the talks.

"During the briefing, officials outlined a fresh approach that should provide a good opportunity to make progress on the U.S.-Russian poultry trade issue, and could lead to a timely resolution," the memo stated. "Because this new approach is somewhat sensitive, the cleared advisors are not permitted to provide details at this time. Nonetheless, USAPEEC and NCC believe the approach outlined at the briefing will be supported by the U.S. poultry industry and does address the U.S. government's concerns about broader trade issues.

"USDA and USTR expressed their appreciation for the industry's flexibility, which has helped them to develop this new proposal," the memo continued.

Russian news agency Interfax Tuesday quoted Gennady Onishchenko, head of consumer protection agency Rospotrebnadzor, as saying U.S. poultry producers have agreed to exclude chlorine from products destined to Russia.

Meatingplace could not reach USDA and poultry industry officials for comment Tuesday afternoon.

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