May 24, 2011

Argentina requests Russia to increase poultry imports quota

During Argentina's trade mission to Russia which was catered to increase commerce between the two countries, the former requested Russia to raise the quota for poultry imports from the South American country.

Russia is already the top destination for Argentine beef exports.

Argentina's foreign minister and agriculture minister reached an accord with their Russian peers in Moscow over the weekend to work toward increasing bilateral trade, according to a statement from Argentina's agriculture ministry.

The agriculture minister asked Russia to allow the import of an additional 30,000 tonnes of poultry each year, more than tripling last year's shipments, according to the statement.

Argentina exported just over 8,000 tonnes of poultry to Russia last year, making it the seventh-largest market for Argentine shipments, according to Argentina's animal sanitation service Senasa. Venezuela took the most birds from Argentina, at almost 70,000 tonnes, followed by Chile, China, South Africa, Vietnam and Hong Kong.

Russia led Argentina's fresh beef exports last year, buying almost 36,000 tonnes. The next largest export market was Israel at about 27,000 tonnes.