MEXICO, August 27 (RIA Novosti) - Nicaragua plans to supply 12,000 metric tons of beef and pork products to Russia annually from 2010, the country's agriculture and forestry minister, Ariel Bucardo, said on Thursday.

"We plan to supply annually 12,000 metric tons of meat to Russia priced at $3,000 per ton beginning from 2010," the minister told the national radio.

He said officials from Russia's agricultural watchdog, Rospotrebnadzor, who had been on a two-week fact-finding visit to Nicaragua, reported that meat was produced in compliance with Russia's strict health and safety regulations.

A memo was also signed followed the visit of Russian experts, Bucardo said.

He stressed that meat supplies to Russia and Venezuela would help Nicaragua diversify its exports and reduce its dependency on the North American market.

Russia's ties with Nicaragua were boosted last year when the Central American country became the only country to join Moscow in recognizing the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Moscow and Managua are also negotiating joint projects in electricity generation, increasing bilateral trade, and oil exploration in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.