August 5, 2013

Russia may ban Brazilian meat imports due to possible ractopamine use

Russia is considering a complete ban on Brazilian meat imports due to the possibility that the banned growth promoter, ractopamine, might be used in the products. 

Rosselkhoznadzor's press secretary, Alexey Alekseyenko, said that authorities were deciding on a suspension of meat from companies in Brazil which could not give assurance regarding the use of the drug. The head of Rosselkhoznadzor, Sergey Dankvert, added that this may lead to a "100% ban on the supply of meat products from that country to Russia"

Rosselkhoznadzor has given Brazil's veterinary service a week from July 26 to provide evidence and assurances that no ractopamine is being used in the production of meat supplied to Russia.

"Brazil has generally agreed with our claims and, in order to avoid complications in bilateral trade, has undertaken an obligation to develop a number of programmes to allay the concerns of Rosselkhoznadzor," said officials. However, it is not clear whether the Brazilian side can actually provide such guarantees.

"This is not the first time that Brazil's veterinary service has made promises to the Russian side. These promises have not been fulfilled and regular checks by our specialists are still revealing violations. If, in a week or two, Brazil has not taken specific and sufficient measures, then Rosselkhoznadzor will restrict import supplies, the Russian officials added.

Brazil is now the largest supplier of meat - and in particular pork - to the Russian market. For the first five months of 2013, the supply of Brazilian pork to Russia amounted to 47,900 tonnes, according to data from the country's State Statistics Service.