Russia Loses Appetite for EU Meat
Since June 1, Russia has blocked imports of EU meat. Brussels does not know how many transports have so far been
impeded. At present it is attempting to convince Moscow to approve the current veterinary certificates of the 25 EU
members for another month. Polish meat producing plants will not suffer losses, since they do not experience any
difficulties selling their meat products on EU markets. The Russian Federation justifies its decision by the lack of
harmonised veterinary certificates. The blockade effects Polish meat exporters. Since June 1 the representative of the
Russian Agriculture Ministry in Poland has stopped stamping meat health certificates issued by Polish vets, which means
they cannot cross the Russian border. However, Polish plants do not incur losses, since there is significant demand for
their products from other EU importers. In the first quarter of this year, Poland exported EUR12.9m worth of meat to
Russia, against EUR23.4m in 2003
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
