Russians stop importing pork from Belarus

The Russian food watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor announced last Tuesday that it would stop importing pork from Belarus. The reason for this is that African swine fever (ASF) has been found in imported meat.

The Kremlin announced that a letter was sent to Belarus at the beginning of March, requesting that the situation regarding AVP be clarified. However, there has been no response to this. That is why Russia has decided to temporarily suspend the import of pork from Belarus.

It is not the first time that Russia has stopped the supply of pork from Belarus. This also happened in 2013, when ASF was also the cause. Russia also recently stopped the dairy imports from Belarus. This is due to the disappointing quality of the product.  

Double agenda
Given that Russia forms a customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan, the boycotts are remarkable. The Russian argument is therefore strongly doubted in the corridors. For example, it is suggested that Russia will expand its borders to... domestic market prices to protect. 

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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