February 4, 2010

Russia lifts import ban on Turkish chicken

The Russian veterinary authority has lifted a ban on Turkish chicken imports that was in force since October 2005.

Rosselkhoznadzor said the ban was removed due to the stabilisation of the bird flu situation in Turkey. The ban is removed effective February 1.

But the ban is still in force on imports of live chicken, eggs and chicken feed, said the authority.

This follows after Russia implemented new rules that ban the import of chickens treated with chlorinated water, a procedure commonly used by US producers to disinfect chickens. The US is Russia's main poultry supplier and the new rules have virtually kept US chickens out of the Russian market. The two countries are still in talks over this issue.

Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last month that Russia and Turkey have negotiated over the trade of meat products, including fish and poultry, with Russia interested to import 500,000 tonnes of meat.