June 10, 2009

Russia has no immediate plans to lift a ban on US meat, according to the head of the country's farm produce watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor.

 

Russia is the largest export market for the US$55 billion poultry industry in US and a major importer of pork and beef, and it has banned meat imports from several US states on concerns related to the AH1N1 flu virus.

 

Some US meat suppliers have said Russian bans on their produce are a protectionist measure designed to help Moscow toward its goal of boosting self-sufficiency in pork and poultry.

 

However, Russia said the bans are on health and safety grounds.

 

Sergei Dankvert, the head of the Rosselkhoznadzor watchdog said Russia could not make a decision until it had received the necessary documentation from the US.

 

A more stringent ban on all meat imports applies to Illinois, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as Canada's Ontario province, Mexico and some Central American and Caribbean states.