MOSCOW, October 14. /TASS/. Russia’s Rosselkhoznadzor veterinary standards agency gave a green light on Monday to imports of pork from China suspended in 2004 for veterinary reasons.
On October 11, 32 containers with 800 tons of pork were shipped to Russia under control of Rosselkhoznadzor specialists in China, the agency reported.
On October 12, Russia’s Trade Representative in China Alexei Gruzdev told TASS that China was ready to increase the number of pork suppliers to Russia from two to 10 companies against the background of a food ban imposed by Russia on August 7 on the European Union, the US, Canada and Australia following western sanctions over Ukraine.
“At least eight Chinese companies have submitted applications for pork supplies to our country,” he said. Gruzdev said Rosselkhoznadzor specialists are currently checking some more enterprises for their compliance with requirements of the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus.
In August 2014, Russia and China agreed on restart of pork supplies to Russia suspended in 2004 for veterinary reasons. China is world’s biggest pork producer, producing last year 68 million tons, which is half of global pork production.
Russia came under Western sanctions, originally visa bans and asset freezes, for incorporation of Crimea in mid-March after a coup in Ukraine in February. Later, Western claims that Russia is taking part in hostilities in southeast Ukraine, which Moscow has repeatedly denied, resulted in more serious, sectoral, restrictions. In response, Moscow imposed on August 7 a one-year ban on imports of beef, pork, poultry, fish, cheeses, fruit, vegetables and dairy products from Australia, Canada, the EU, the United States and Norway.