Russia not to restrict poultry deliveries from US stricken areas - RUSSIA - Russia is not going so far to impose restrictions on poultry imports from the US states hit by Hurricane Katrina, the chief of the Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control Service, Sergei Dankvert, said.

“At present, we have received additional guarantees from the US veterinary service about the quality of all poultry imports from the regions that were exposed to the strike of the natural disaster,” he said in an interview with Itar-Tass on Tuesday.

The Russian agency “is satisfied with the rapid reaction and guarantees of American colleagues, and for this reason it is too early to speak about imposing restrictions now,” Dankvert said.

He explained that the Federal Veterinary and Phytosanitary Control Service had sent inquires to US departments about the condition of poultry farms licensed for deliveries of chicken to Russia and of refrigerator plants and port in the Mexico Bay. US veterinary services have rapidly responded to the inquiries and assured that all requirements of Russian veterinary service for poultry exports would be met, Dankvert said.

He stressed that “Russian veterinarians are going to watch most carefully the situation in the south of the US, whose infrastructure has seriously suffered from the unprecedented hurricane”. According to experts, US southern states accounted for about a third of American poultry exports to Russia. The US is a largest exporter of broiler poultry to Russia.

Russia imported 320,000 tonnes of chicken quarters from the US in the first half of this year, which was 14 percent above the last year’s figure. A quota that was 771,000 tonnes for the US this year restricts poultry exports to Russia.

Source: ITAR-TASS - 6th September 2005