April 21, 2008

Russia announces intention to cut meat imports

Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov has announced Russia's intention to cut down on the amount of poultry and pork imports into the country.

In announcing the move, he noted that current Russian production cannot meet domestic beef demand and will be unable to do so for several more years to come.

Zubkov said the nation would need to assess its own farm resources while restricting imports through a tariff quota,'' Zubkov stated.

Russian Minister of Agriculture Alexey Gordeev said limiting the number of customs clearance points for imported meat will not lead to higher prices on the Russian market and there would be no shortage. In fact, there are already signs of an overproduction of poultry in the country.

In limiting the number of clearance points, Russia would be following the example set up by the EU.