Russia backs off threat to block US poultry: trade group

Russian officials will not enforce measures that could have blocked US poultry exports as of December 31 due to Russian concerns about the use of chlorine in US plants, a US trade group said on Wednesday. The decision by Russia, the top US poultry market, "is a big relief to a number of companies (that) had product on the water, or scheduled to ship," said Jim Sumner, president of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.
"I think we're back on solid ground," he said in an e-mail to Reuters. Sergei Dankvert, Russia's top veterinary official, told the US Agriculture Department about the decision, Sumner said.
A USDA spokesman said he could not confirm the decision, but said the department continues to consult with Russian officials and the US industry to keep trade flowing. It's the second time in two years that the chlorine issue has threatened US poultry exports to Russia, which bought $801 million worth of US chicken last year. Sumner said Russia's decision to back down from its rule on chlorine buys the industry time to continue discussing Russia's concerns about chlorine rinses, used routinely by US processors to kill pathogens that can cause food poisoning.
The USDA is willing to continue discussing the issue to find a permanent solution acceptable to both countries, a spokesman said. Russia may monitor US poultry for chlorine residues, but that is unlikely to affect shipments because there is no detectable residues left from the rinses, Sumner said. The European Union bans imports of poultry treated with the rinses. The United States has launched a legal complaint about the ban at the World Trade Organisation.
Technical and health-related barriers are a perennial sticking point in US-Russia meat trade, and have increased as Russia moves to decrease its reliance on imports by boosting its domestic meat production. The poultry decision should ensure smooth exports in the short term, said Paul Aho, economist at the consulting firm Poultry Perspective. "The important thing to remember about Russia is that Russian imports of US chicken are being phased down slowly over the next several years as local production increases," Aho said.