March 22, 2005

Russia not importing US poultry due to import license delay

No US poultry has entered Russia since the beginning of 2005 because the economic development ministry delayed the issuing of import licensees, a ministry official said in a telephone conversation Monday.

Normally the ministry publishes the lists of approved importers and their import quotas at the end of January but this year the ministry published the lists at the end of February.

This resulted in delays in the arrival of the imported poultry as contracts couldn't be finalized nor transportation arrangements made, the official said. The delivery of poultry from US producers to buyers in Russia takes at least a month, he added.

The 2005 US poultry import quota to Russia is 771,900 tonnes.