December 18, 2012

Russia lifts 26-year ban on UK beef imports

The 26-year ban on British meat imports was lifted by Russia, which could be worth between GBP80 million to 115 million (US$130 million-186 million) to the industry over three years.

Beef exports are expected to begin from a limited number of plants in the new year, while lamb exports are due to follow in April.

The technical decision to lift the ban was made during the summer and the political announcement has now been made.

Welcoming the announcement, Eblex, the organisation for the English beef and sheep industry, said fresh and frozen beef and veal exports from the UK were worth GBP438.1 million (US$710 million) in 2011, while fresh and frozen sheep meat exports were worth GBP381.6 million (US$619 million).

Russia is one of the largest importers of beef with imports of more than 600,000 tonnes a year.

Eblex worked with Defra (UK department for environment, food and rural affairs) to address Russia's longstanding ban on British beef for some time and earlier this year hosted a delegation of eight Russian vets. They spent more than a week with Defra's export team visiting farms and processing facilities as part of the process of working towards developing potential market access for the UK.

Peter Hardwick, Eblex head of trade development, said: "Eblex has been working closely with Defra to emphasise the importance of this market and, through the Export Certification Partnership with Defra, placed Russia as a top priority in terms of market access and the lifting of import restrictions."