September 25, 2006

Russia bans pork from Premium Standard Farms

Russia has banned some pork products from US's Premium Standard Farms for violating health standards, possibly retaliating for the US blocking its membership bid in the WTO.

Pork processed at Premium Standard's Milan, Missouri, facility was banned for violating "veterinary-sanitary standards,'' the Agriculture Ministry said Friday (Sep 22).

Premium Standard recently agreed to be acquired by Smithfields Foods, the world's largest pork processor.

Russia had previously threatened to tighten import barriers on US meat unless it won its approval for WTO membership by October.

The country has been trying to join the WTO for more than a decade and has signed bilateral agreements with all 149 members except the US, which is seeking more concessions on agriculture.

Russia and the US signed a four-year accord last year which set annual quotas for US pork imports at 502,000 tonnes. The quotas seemed to have revived the Russian pork and poultry sector as output surged 10 percent in the first half of this year after the quotas were introduced.

Russia is also on a drive to construct more poultry and hog farms in a bid to gain more self sufficiency in a sector that sees increasing demand as people became more affluent.