June 19, 2007

Russia seeks high tariff on pig imports to protect local swine industry

Russia's Agriculture Ministry is seeking to impose a higher tariff and reduce pig imports for slaughter to protect domestic breeders, Deputy Minister Sergei Mitin said on Monday.

In an animal breeders' conference, Mitin said the ministry believes a cut of no less than 35 percent on the tariff rate on imported pigs will help level competition for local pig industry.

He said last year Russia imported 370,000 head of live animals, mainly pigs. He did not provide a comparison with previous years.

Live pig imports takes a five percent tariff of their customs value while pedigree pigs may be imported free of the tariff.

The rising pig imports will be subject of investigation by the Ministry for Economic Development and Trade, according to Mitin.

The ministry earlier said the country's pork output was expected to rise to 2.6 million tonnes this year from 2.2 million in 2006 by carcass weight, which also includes bone.

Russia has made agriculture, and pig breeding in particular, a national priority. The ministry declared 2005 the Year of the Pig despite the drop of pig population by 1.2 percent in that year. In 2006, numbers rose by 13 percent to 15.2 million heads.

Russia regulates meat imports by tariff quotas. Under this year's quota, 484,000 tonnes of pork may be imported into Russia at a 15 percent discount tariff. The European Union accounts for more than half the quota.