March 20, 2015

Russia to export halal poultry to Middle East this year

Russia will soon be a source of halal poulty products for Middle Eastern countries, the country's veterinary authority, Rosselkhoznadzor, said.

Rosselkhoznadzor said Russia will deliver initial shipments to the UAE and Qatar. The latter is finalising negotiations with the Federation over the issue of veterinary certification. Supply volumes have not been discussed yet, representatives from Rosselkhoznadzor said.

In the meantime, deliveries to the UAE could be made by mid-2015. The head of Russia's Economic Department of the Council of Muftis (Muslim religious scholars) is currently engaging UAE officials on setting up the export trade of halal chickens to the Emirates.

Reflecting the recent developments, Alexey Alekseenko, the assistant to the head of Rosselkhoznadzor, noted the rising volume of halal poultry in Russia, which has 23 million Muslims. He believed that the positive trend in exports can help expand the local poultry industry.

"Russian authorities are doing everything possible so that, this year, (our poultry-producing companies) can begin deliveries of products to Qatar that meet Muslim quality control specifications," Alekseenko said.

Echoing the growth potential of Russia's poultry export market with the deliveries of halal products, experts from Russia's Agrorucom revealed that the country may be able to send 10,000-15,000 tonnes of halal poultry meat to the Middle East this year. That is, if the Federation is able to set forth exports by the middle of the year. Even more optimistic, export volumes are expected to double the current year's amount in 2016.

Russia exported 65,000 tonnes of poultry last year. The volume may double to 130,000 tonnes in 2015, based on forecasts of the Russian Agricultural Ministry.