July 19, 2004

Russian Beef Imports Decrease 50%

Russia, the world's third-largest beef importer, halved purchases of the meat in the first quarter, cutting sales by Brazil and Ukraine. This is because of wrangling over import quotas, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Friday.

The Economic Development and Trade Ministry changed meat-import regulations last year, altering the amount of beef, pork and chicken that importers could buy, the department's Foreign Agricultural Service said in a report on its web site.

Delays calculating new permits cost Russian meat importers almost $250 million in the three months that ended on March 31, the agricultural service said.

Russian imports of frozen and fresh beef plunged 54 percent to 52,948 tons in the first quarter from a year earlier.

Only the United States and Japan imported more beef than Russia in 2002, according to the Department of Agriculture.