July 26, 2006

Russia lifts poultry ban on two French regions

Russian authorities have lifted a ban on imports of poultry meat, eggs, live birds and feed from France's Pas-de-Calais and Loire-Atlantique provinces, the Prime-Tass news agency reported Tuesday (Jul 25), citing Russia's Agriculture Ministry.

The bans were imposed last year due to outbreaks of the highly contagious Newcastle disease. The ministry said the bans were lifted after France's veterinary service provided necessary guarantees about the safety of the products.

The ban has not had any visible effect on Russian poultry imports as buyers were able to switch to products from other countries.

Russia's poultry imports totalled 464,000 tonnes in January-May, up 5 percent on the year, according to official customs statistics. Last year, Russia's poultry meat imports amounted to 1.318 million tonnes, up 19.7 percent on the year.

Russia's poultry meat quota was set for this year at 1.13 million tonnes, up from 1.09 million tonnes last year. Imports outside the quota are possible, but at a high duty, which amounts to 62.5 percent of the product value.