020314 Russia Suspends US Poultry Imports Over Additives

Moscow -Russia stopped issuing import licenses for U.S. poultry and the Agriculture Ministry said it would introduce a temporary ban on the import of the meat as of March 10 .

The move appeared to be an attempt to increase pressure on American producers to divulge what antibiotics, preservatives and other substances are used in the industry.

"We are giving notice that in response to three inquiries, we have not received an answer as to exactly which antibiotics and how much are used in the raising of poultry," Agriculture Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Gordeyev was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

The announcement followed a full ban imposed on U.S. poultry imports by neighboring Ukraine , which said use of artificial ingredients in poultry production was illegal. Nine-tenths of Ukraine 's chicken imports came from the U.S. before the Jan. 1 ban.

The Russian Agriculture Ministry said that American poultry exporters had frequently violated Russian veterinary regulations, failing to provide proof of the Russian veterinary department's approval for import, improperly labeling packages and even supplying meat from enterprises that didn't have salmonella checks.

However, Albert Davleyev, the head of the Moscow office of the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council, told Echo of Moscow radio that the Russian Agriculture Ministry had given U.S. producers a clean bill of health two weeks ago, saying they met the veterinary service's requirements. He also said that to the best of his knowledge, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had sent answers to the Russian questions.

Davleyev said Russia permits the use of antibiotics in feeds and various treatments, as do the Brazil , China and European countries that also export poultry to Russia .

"The question is whether Russian antibiotics and U.S. ones carry the same names," he told The Associated Press.

Each year, U.S. producers send Russia about 900,000 to 1 million tons of poultry, mostly chicken and turkey meat, worth $600 million to $800 million, Davleyev said. Some of that meat is reexported to neighboring countries, he said.

Vedemosti business daily speculated that the poultry import suspension could be intended as Russia 's answer to U.S. threats to ban Russian steel imports as punishment for alleged dumping. A U.S. ban could cost Russian steel producers about $1.2 billion over the next two years, the same amount U.S. chicken producers stand to lose, Vedemosti said.

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