Russia to ban chilled meat imports from Germany

Russia is set to ban the import of chilled beef, pork and poultry from Germany beginning 4 February over safety concerns.

Russia’s animal and plant health watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor noted that the decision has been made in response to Germany’s failure to meet Russian veterinary and sanitary requirements.

Rosselkhoznadzor spokesman Alexei Alexeyenko said that the guarantee for the safety of imported products from Germany is given by the federal veterinary services of the country, which has a weak association with regional veterinary departments.

For this reason, Rosselkhoznadzor has to conduct additional studies, which is putting a strain on the state budget, Alexeyenko added.

Currently, Germany is permitted to export pork, beef and poultry to Russia at a discount tariff under quotas.

Meanwhile, Russia is also planning to impose a temporary ban on chilled beef and pork products from the US and Canada beginning 4 February over concerns that they may contain ractopamine, a drug used in animal feed to promote leanness in cattle and hogs.

The decision will significantly affect US meat exports as Russia is the sixth largest buyer of US meat, purchasing beef and pork worth more than $500m annually.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently does not have testing or certification protocols for ractopamine.

However, the proposed ban is expected to have a low impact on Canada, as the country does not ship chilled pork to Russia and exports only a small amount of chilled bovine meats.

Ractopamine is banned in 160 countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, China and the European Union.

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Image: Russia’s Rosselkhoznadzor watchdog stated that the decision to ban German chilled meat imports has been made as Germany has failed to meet veterinary and sanitary requirements. Photo courtesy of Koos Schwaneberg.