Rosselkhoznadzor (the state agricultural watchdog) might ban import of cattle produce from the EU beginning from April 1, 2007 unless each country produces veterinary certificates before March 31, 2007. The market players say Rosselkhoznadzor’s requirements are justified, reports RosBusinessConsulting.

According to the preliminary data provided by the National Meat Association, 60,000 tons of beef, 220,000 to 230,000 tons of pork, 190,000 to 200,000 tons of poultry, and 200,000 tons of by-products were imported from Europe last year. In terms of money, this came to round about $1.5 billion. The total amount of meat imported from abroad reached 2.35 million tons (excluding the by-products), with 36% bought from the USA, 26% to 27% bought from Brazil, and 21% to 22% acquired from the EU.

Rosselkhoznadzor warned the dealers about the possibility of ban as early as November 2006, shortly after the EU adopted some new members. Then, Russia insisted on signing separate guaranteeing agreements with each member state, but the EU said it was against their practices. As a result, a general memorandum was signed, with a special proviso that ‘The European Union would do its best to avoid illegal practices related to meat supplies.’

Despite all this, Russia kept getting bad quality and unsafe produce from some European countries. Some beef shipments that were not good enough to eat were processed in Italy, and then shipped to France, then to Russia. Benzopyrene was found in some Latvian and Lithuanian tinned goods; expired meat products were re-packaged in Hungary and transferred to Russia through Poland and the Ukraine; finally, salmonella was found in meat imported from Germany, Belgium, France, and Holland.