Russia bans pork from Brazil

Russia has announced a ban on imports of pork and beef from Brazil. A spokesman for the sanitary and phytosanitary service confirmed this on Monday 20 November.

Russia will (temporarily) stop importing pork and beef from Brazil from December 1. It is not known how long the import ban will last. The discovery of the growth agent ractopamine in Brazilian meat products is the cause of the boycott. Russian law does not allow this. In Brazil, the United States and Canada, the drug is allowed during the production process.

serious volumes
Brazil has been Russia's main supplier of pork since the Kremlin introduced an import ban on European pork in early 2014. This is because of African swine fever in Eastern Europe. Brazilian pork exports increased by 2015% in 12,7 to 810.000 tons. The following year, exports increased by another 25%, mainly due to demand from Russia.

Beef from Brazil is also eagerly purchased in Russia. In 2014, Russia was the largest importer of Brazilian beef with a monthly import volume of approximately 25.000 tons.  

Wouter Job

Wouter Baan is editor-in-chief of Boerenbusiness. He also focuses on dairy, pig and meat markets. He also follows (business) developments within agribusiness and interviews CEOs and policymakers.

w.baan@boerenbusiness. Nl

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