Sample #38
"Russia has expanded its ban on U.S. pork to include all American meat imports as the diplomatic row over alleged election meddling and the situation in Syria rumbles on.
Last week, the Russian government added five new countries to the blacklist: South Korea, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Ukraine. While the list included major agricultural producers such as Brazil and Canada, U.S. meat producers were noticeably absent. However, on Wednesday, the government added the U.S. to the list of banned meat importers.
The ban was announced by the state consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. A government official told Russian media that American meat imports were now being kept out of Russia on a “temporary basis”.
Russia is the fourth largest importer of U.S. meat, buying $51 million worth of poultry and $22 million of pork in 2016. According to the National Pork Producers Council, the U.S. shipped 27,600 metric tons of pork to Russia in 2016, which made up 0.3 percent of total U.S. pork exports.
Read more: Polls Say Few Americans Think Trump is Putin's Puppet
The ban comes at a particularly difficult time for the U.S. meat industry, which is still struggling to recover from a disastrous salmonella outbreak that began in 2015. China, Vietnam and Mexico have all banned U.S. pork imports, while the EU and South Korea are still testing shipments.
The bans come as U.S. meat exporters have had difficulty convincing importers to trust American meat following the 2015 crisis. The outbreak, which resulted in more than 60 percent of pork being recalled, was linked to at least 184 illnesses in 20 states. While U.S. authorities traced the outbreak back to a farm in Missouri, they were unable to identify the exact source of contamination.
“This has been a major setback for us and it will take a while for the industry to recover,” said National Pork Producers Council spokesman Dave Warner.
It's not clear when Russia will lift its ban on U.S. meat, but Russia's state consumer protection watchdog has said it would allow Ukrainian meat imports.
Last week, the Russian government added five new countries to the blacklist: South Korea, Montenegro, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Ukraine. While the list included major agricultural producers such as Brazil and Canada, U.S. meat producers were noticeably absent. However, on Wednesday, the government added the U.S. to the list of banned meat importers.
The ban was announced by the state consumer watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. A government official told Russian media that American meat imports were now being kept out of Russia on a “temporary basis”.
Russia is the fourth largest importer of U.S. meat, buying $51 million worth of poultry and $22 million of pork in 2016. According to the National Pork Producers Council, the U.S. shipped 27,600 metric tons of pork to Russia in 2016, which made up 0.3 percent of total U.S. pork exports.
Read more: Polls Say Few Americans Think Trump is Putin's Puppet
The ban comes at a particularly difficult time for the U.S. meat industry, which is still struggling to recover from a disastrous salmonella outbreak that began in 2015. China, Vietnam and Mexico have all banned U.S. pork imports, while the EU and South Korea are still testing shipments.
The bans come as U.S. meat exporters have had difficulty convincing importers to trust American meat following the 2015 crisis. The outbreak, which resulted in more than 60 percent of pork being recalled, was linked to at least 184 illnesses in 20 states. While U.S. authorities traced the outbreak back to a farm in Missouri, they were unable to identify the exact source of contamination.
“This has been a major setback for us and it will take a while for the industry to recover,” said National Pork Producers Council spokesman Dave Warner.
It's not clear when Russia will lift its ban on U.S. meat, but Russia's state consumer protection watchdog has said it would allow Ukrainian meat imports.