020316 Russian Stops Imports of U.S. Poultry

Moscow - Russia stopped issuing import licenses for U.S. poultry and the Agriculture Ministry said it would introduce a temporary ban on poultry imports 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 United States before the Jan. 1 ban.

U.S. producers send Russia about 900,000 to 1 million tons of poultry, mostly chicken and turkey, worth $600 million to $800 million a year, according to the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council. Some of those imports are then sent to neighboring countries.

Russia produced just 564,000 tons of poultry last year, the Vedemosti business daily reported.

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 did not 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 the Russian 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.

Vedemosti, the 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.

U.S. President Bush will decide whether to impose import restrictions on the 19 categories of steel imports that the U.S. International Trade Commission ruled in December were harming the domestic industry. Steel companies claim new trade barriers are needed to save thousands of American jobs, but U.S. steel users worry they would send prices soaring.

RETURN TO HOME PAGE

E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com