Officials in Russia would like to see that country's pork industry become self-sufficient in meat supply. However, a U.S. Department of Agriculture report says Russia will reduce imports of pork faster than domestic producers can increase output. USDA's Foreign Agriculture Service says, during 2009, Russia raised pork production by 25,000 metric tons while imports fell 35,000.
Meanwhile, USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says, Russian authorities have officially reinstated JBS USA's Marshalltown, Iowa, plant as an eligible pork exporter. Russia has agreed to end a ban related to the use of tetracycline based on U.S. assurances that pork producers would keep Moscow-bound product free of the antibiotic.
U.S. Meat Export Federation spokesman Joe Schuele says Russia has made excellent progress in terms of re-listing plants, but there are still some plants that previously exported to Russia that have not yet been reinstated.
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