May 8, 2009

Russia is considering more beef imports from Brazil as EU has been unable to fill a large portion of its quota.

In exchange, the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture is negotiating an agreement with the Brazilian wheat milling industry to increase Russian wheat imports (with a possible 10 percent drop in import tariff) as Argentina's wheat output, which typically meets for a large portion of Brazil's wheat demand, has slumped this year due to severe drought. 

In addition, the Brazilian government will also negotiate its support for Russia's access to the World Trade Organization in exchange for better meat access in that market.

Moreover, the Brazilian government aims to set open Russia's beef import quotas as opposed to the current country/region restricted quotas, which would favour large, competitive suppliers such as Brazil.