February 19, 2010

US-Russia poultry talks to occur soon

US and Russian negotiators will need to meet for a second round of high-level talks in Moscow soon in order to resolve a dispute that halted US poultry exports to Russia, USDA Under-Secretary Jim Miller said Thursday (Feb 19).

Russia implemented a restriction on January 1 that effectively disqualified all US poultry shipments because of the widespread use of chlorinated rinses by US chicken processors. While Russia appears adamant that chlorine not be used at any time in chicken processing, US officials argue it is a good way to kill pathogens, is safe and helps protect consumers from food-borne illnesses.

Progress has been made since the first round of talks was held in Moscow last month, with correspondence occurring between the two countries, Miller said.

After the first talks concluded, the US sent a written proposal to Moscow, which Russian negotiators responded to by sending their own proposals, according to US government and poultry industry officials. The details of those proposals have not been made public.

Miller said more work needs to be done before trade can resume, adding that high-level Russian negotiators have agreed that a new round of talks will be needed.

Miller was the lead US negotiator in the previous round of talks and he said he likely will reprise that role for the second round of negotiations.

In January, Miller said the US was "discussing a wide range of options with the Russians."

The US shipped 645,382 tonnes of chicken - mostly in the form of leg quarters - to Russia from January through October 2009, worth US$675.2 million, according to the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.