US To Get Lion Share of Russia’s 2004 Meat Import Quotas - RUSSIA - The lion's share of Russia's 2004 meat import quota will go to the United States. According to a key member of Russia's Commission for Protective Measures in Foreign Trade, the U.S. may be granted a poultry meat quota of 771,900 tons out of a total quota of 1.05 million tons.

The European Union, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Cyprus and Malta combined may get 205,000 tons, Paraguay 5,000 tons, and other countries 68,100 tons.

The United States is allowed this year to export 553,500 tons of poultry meat within a total quota of 744,000 tons set for May to December, the European Union 139,900, Brazil 33,300, China 3,100 and other countries 14,200 tons.

The government set a quota of 315,000 tons this year for frozen beef imports and 337,500 tons for pork for the nine months starting April 1. It added a quota of 11,500 tons of fresh and chilled beef from Aug. 1 until the end of 2003.

From 2004 the government plans to extend the principle of distributing quotas to specific countries for pork and beef. Of a 450,000-ton pork quota planned for 2004, the U.S. share may be 42,200 tons.

Source: eFeedLink - 30th December 2003