United States to resume pork supplies to Russian market

The United States and Russia have agreed that American pork supplies to the Russian market will be resumed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Friday.

A temporary ban on pork deliveries from some U.S. farms was introduced in December due to a dispute over the presence of antibiotics in meat which Russian requirements restrict.

The department said a new veterinary certificate has been developed and added it would guarantee U.S. pork meets Russia's requirements on the admissible levels of antibiotics.

On January 1, Russia banned imports of U.S. chlorine-treated poultry, citing new sanitary requirements.

The United States, which supplied 22% of poultry consumed in Russia last year, says the poultry import ban will damage the U.S. poultry industry and push prices up for Russian consumers. Talks on the issue continue.

WASHINGTON, March 6 (RIA Novosti)