Russia lifts poultry ban from Turkey

The Russian Ministry of Agriculture has lifted import restrictions on Turkish poultry and that the Russian quota for Turkish poultry will increase to 150,000 tonnes in 2011.

The Russian president and several other ministers visited Turkey on May 11-12 to sign several protocols on agriculture which are: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU); grain and grain product controls, safety evaluations and plant protection control during trade; and two protocols to simplify procedures for exporting processed and unprocessed poultry products to Russia.

At the press conference, the Russian Ministry of Agriculture stated that the poultry quota for Turkey is 57,000 tonnes for 2010 and that there are currently no legal barriers to Turkish exports of poultry to Russia. He said now that the governments have reached agreement, it is up to the private sector whether or not to import Turkish poultry.

The leading poultry importing company of Russia, Miratog, accompanied the Russian delegation during the visit to Turkey and stated that it has been discussing possible imports with Turkish companies for the past three months.