020418 Russia To Introduce Quotas for Foreign Poultry

Moscow - Russia may introduce quotas for poultry imports as soon as next month, the agriculture minister said -- a move likely to further frustrate U.S.-Russian trade relations amid a dispute over American chicken.

Last week, U.S. and Russian officials reached a deal that American producers hope will lead to the end of a Russian ban on U.S. chicken imposed last month. Before the ban, the United States provided more poultry to Russia than any other country, which means that if the ban is lifted and quotas are introduced, U.S. producers would likely suffer most.

Agriculture Minister Alexander Gordeyev insisted that the quotas would not single out U.S. chicken producers, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Gordeyev, who has criticized Russia's reliance on imported food, gave no details about the size of the proposed import limits. "We will try to decide everything in May," Gordeyev was quoted as telling reporters in the city of Orenburg.

Russia banned U.S. chicken March 10, citing sanitary concerns. The ban alarmed U.S. poultry producers in 38 states, who make dlrs 600 million to dlrs 700 million a year exporting to Russia. The issue has marred U.S.-Russian relations ahead of a presidential summit next month.

U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow and Russia's chief veterinary inspector signed an agreement that addressed Russia's concerns.

Vershbow said the ban would be lifted before April 10, after the United States meets requirements set by Russia. However, Gordeyev later cast doubt on American exporters' willingness to meet the requirements and said it was too early to speak of an end to the ban.

Russia's Agriculture Ministry has also released a list of U.S. poultry farms found to have exported chicken infected with salmonella to Russia, and that have been barred from selling chicken to Russia even if the ban is lifted.

The companies named are: Rocco Turkeys of Dayton, Virginia; George's Chicken of Edinburg, Virginia; Mar-Jac Processing of Gainesville, Georgia; ConAgra Broiler of Dalton, Georgia; George's Inc. of Springdale, Arkansas; House of Raeford Farms, of Raeford and North Rose Hill, North Carolina; Pilgrim's Pride of Marshville, North Carolina; Peco Foods of Sebastopol, Mississippi; and Allen Family Foods of Hurlock, Maryland.

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