The second round of bilateral negotiations in Moscow on Russia's ban on U.S. chicken has ended without producing a resolution, but some progress was made and discussions will continue, U.S. government and industry officials said Thursday.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Jim Miller, who led the U.S. delegation to Moscow for the talks this week, is on his way back to the U.S., a USDA spokesman said. Miller had been in Moscow since Monday for this latest round of talks that U.S. chicken producers had hoped would result in Russia lifting its ban.
The first round of talks, also in Moscow, were held on Jan. 19 and 20.
It was on Jan. 1 that Russia banned imports of chicken that have gone through a chlorinated water rinse as part of a sanitation process. Because most U.S. chicken processors use chlorinated water rinses, the Russian rule effectively stopped all imports of U.S. chicken.
The U.S. shipped 645,382 metric tons of chicken, mostly in the form of leg quarters, to Russia between January 2009 and the following October, at a value of $675.2 million, according to the USA Poultry and Egg Export Council.
Source: agriculture.com
