January 22, 2013

Russia to suspend meat imports from Germany

Russia will cease chilled meat imports from Germany from February. 4 due to health concerns, according to Russia's animal and plant health watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor.

The ban comes against a background of frosty relations between Moscow and Berlin, which has urged greater democracy and has been voicing its concern over human rights record in the former Cold War adversary.

Russia's membership in the World Trade Organisation, where it was admitted last year after nearly 18 years of on-and-off negotiations, has so far been chequered, while the US has said Russia's rules on meat imports appear to be inconsistent with WTO.

Moscow has required that the meat from the US be tested and certified free of the feed additive ractopamine.

In 2011, Russia also banned poultry meat imports from Germany following a ban of pork imports due to fears that the meat may be tainted with dioxin.