May 11, 2006

Russia's Q1 poultry imports up 23 percent on-year

Russia's poultry meat imports increased 23 percent on the year to 247,900 tonnes in Jan-Mar 2006, according to a report by the Federal Customs Service issued Wednesday (May 10), Prime-Tass news agency reported.

All poultry imported to Russia in the period came from outside the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Almost half of the volume was imported in March. However, imports are expected to drop after Russia's Federal Service for Veterinarian and Phytosanitarian Control cancelled in late April all previously issued poultry meat import permits due to "numerous cases of violations of existing veterinary standards and regulations".

The authorities earlier pressed importers to cut imports as US exporters were taking advantage of problems encountered by domestic producers amid outbreaks of bird flu, Russia's Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev said earlier. Importers had agreed to reduce poultry imports by a third. The minister even proposed starting an anti-dumping investigation.

Last year, Russia's poultry meat imports increased 19.7 percent on the year to 1.318 million tonnes.

Russia's poultry meat import quota was set at 1.13 million tonnes this year, up from 1.09 million tonnes last year. Imports above the quota are possible, but at a high duty of 62.5 percent of the product value.