Russia Hints at Halting Poultry Import from 2011

Russia, the largest export market for US chicken, has indicated it will stop poultry imports starting next year.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin told the Interfax Agency: “I think next year and in the following years we can basically do without the imports.”

In 2009 the US shipped 733,000t of poultry meat worth $752m to Russia before officials raised concerns about a chlorine rinse used in US processing plants to kill pathogens that can cause food poisoning.

This year poultry imports from the US fell to 300,000t.

Russia’s production of poultry meat rose by nearly 70% in recent years, while pork output was up by 39%.