April 30, 2009
Russia to retain pork import bans until June
Russia will retain bans imposed on imports of raw pork from countries affected by the deadly swine flu virus until June 1, the government said on Wednesday (Apr 29).
It said on its website that the extension was approved by the government's commission on swine flu, chaired by First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov, who is also responsible for the country's agriculture sector.
So far, Russia has banned imports of raw pork from 13 US states, Mexico and countries in Central America and the Caribbean due to an outbreak of swine flu, which has killed up to 159 people in Mexico and one in the US.
It has also banned imports of all types of meat from Mexico and the US states of Texas, California and Kansas.
US embassy in Moscow issued a statement on Tuesday (Apr 28) saying US pork was safe and there was no evidence that the virus could be transmitted by meat. The US is one of the major suppliers of pork and poultry to Russia.
Zubkov said this month Russia aimed to reach self-sufficiency in pork and poultry meat by 2012.
