Source: Lisa M. Keefe, MEATINGPLACE, 10/28/14


Russian authorities have approved two Thai pork processors to export their products to the Russian market, the first pork product from Thailand to receive that approval, according to local media reports.

Thailand’s Permanent Secretary for Agriculture and Cooperatives projected that the country could export 50,000 metric tons of pork a year to Russia.

The pork deal was made possible by a memorandum of understanding that the two countries recently signed. Thailand could begin shipping pork to Russia in three to four months, the Thai agriculture secretary said.

In August, Russia banned the import U.S. protein products in response to U.S. sanctions in the wake of Russia’s military actions in the Crimean Peninsula and in Ukraine. It also has stopped importing some foodstuffs from the European Union. In the weeks since, it has boosted its plans to import pork, among other proteins, from China, Brazil and Mongolia, among other countries.

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