Russian Poultry Imports Are Expected to Rise 10%
May 03, 2011
WASHINGTON -- Russian poultry imports in 2011 are forecast to rise 10% from a year earlier, but the feathers are still flying over Russian import quotas on chicken that threaten to limit imports next year, U.S. agricultural experts in Moscow say. Half of Russia's poultry is imported, 75% of that amount from the U.S. The U.S. Agriculture Department, quoting its analysts in Moscow, forecast 2011 Russian poultry imports at 910,000 metric tons, up from its previous estimate of 740,000 metric tons and 2010 imports of 830,000 tons. A metric ton is equivalent to 2,204.62 pounds. Pressure on the Russian government to protect the struggling poultry industry culminated last March in a ban on U.S. chicken imports, allegedly for sanitary reasons; the ban was quickly lifted after diplomatic consultations. At the same time, Moscow knows that rising demand for poultry can't be met domestically, and might resist demands that imports be curtailed, the report said. ``The political situation in Russia is currently in such flux that it is impossible to say whether rumors and statements in favor of quotas on poultry will be translated into action this year, or even next year,'' the report said. If a quota isn't imposed, 2012 imports will be higher, the report said.
