Source:  Tom Johnston, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 8/4/10

U.S. officials are working to address concerns Russian authorities have raised regarding technical issues with a new trade agreement allowing imports of U.S. chicken, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Trade Representatives Office confirmed to Meatingplace.

The technical issues, voiced but not specified by Russian officials in local media reports over the weekend, threaten to halt trade only weeks after it resumed. In the past two weeks, Russia had approved nearly 70 U.S. poultry establishments as eligible exporters under a new agreement that allows them to use certain pathogen-reduction treatments rather than chlorine.

“We are monitoring the situation and working with our industry to ensure that the terms of the agreement are fulfilled,” USTR spokeswoman Carol Guthrie told Meatingplace in an e-mail.

The National Chicken Council, meanwhile, said in a statement, “We hope these matters can be resolved speedily and are awaiting further clarification from the U.S. government.”

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