MOSCOW. Aug 27 (Interfax) – The import quotas for chicken and pig meat may be reduced by hundreds of thousands of tonnes, Russian Agriculture Minister Alexei Gordeyev has said.
“We are now making estimates. It is a question of hundreds, not tens of thousands of tonnes,” he told the press answering the question about how meat import quotas could be reduced.
The minister said that Russia has been intensively building up the production of chicken and pig meat.
“We are quite capable of replacing big quantities of imports. The time has come to change the quota system and reduce imports that unfortunately have been growing over the past years,” Gordeyev said.
On Tuesday an Agriculture Ministry source told journalists that the ministry suggests slashing U.S. chicken imports to Russia.
“No talks have been held at government level yet. I hope they will begin soon and the volume of U.S. chicken imports will be significantly reduced compared to the those stated in the agreement,” the source said.
He said Russian poultry farmers are already holding corresponding talks with their U.S. counterparts.
(c) 2008 Daily News Bulletin; Moscow – English. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
Comments