April 12, 2006

Russia to reduce poultry imports

Russian importers have decided to cut imports of poultry by 30 percent to help poultry farmers at home facing falling demand, the agriculture minister said.

Sources familiar with the Russian poultry industry said domestic consumption has decreased by 20-30 percent because of bird flu concerns.

US poultry producers may be the ones who bear the brunt of the cuts since 74 percent of the 1.1 million tonne quota this year is from the US.

Meanwhile, the Russian agriculture ministry also announced a temporary ban on imports of poultry from Israel after the discovery of highly pathogenic bird flu in the country.