Russia's poultry import quota system to change

Russia's Agriculture Ministry said last week that the country's current system of setting import quotas on poultry meat should change to protect domestic producers from foreign competition.

Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev, was quoted by Dow Jones as saying the current system should be abolished to avoid flooding the Russian market with cheap poultry from the United States.

The ministry revises the quota annually, and under the current system the quota is distributed to importers in line with volumes they brought into Russia the previous year.

According to a statement by the Agriculture Ministry the new system is aimed at helping the "companies that supported the government in bringing stability to the market". The statement did not elaborate on how specific producers would gain or lose from the new rules.

The Ministry also said that in addition to the new distribution system they would also submit a proposal to the government to cut the planned 2007 poultry quota of 1.17 million metric tons by 30%.

The US currently accounts for about 40% of Russia's poultry imports with Brazil and the European Union being the next largest importers.

Last year Russia produced 1.380 million tons of poultry and imported about the same amount.

Editor WorldPoultry