China imports poultry to Russia through Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan imports poultry to Russia that has initially been produced in China, resulting in low-quality meat on the market which could be dangerous for consumers, according officials at Russia’s veterinary watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor.

“It emerged recently that Kyrgyzstan increased its level of purchasing meat in China – which is not the most trouble-free region from the point of view of animal diseases. At the same time, Chinese poultry has been banned in Russia and the Customs Union since 2004,” said the official message of the department.

To prevent the entry of poultry from China into Russia, Rosselkhoznadzor has this week joined forces with customs to implement enhanced control on imports of poultry meat from Kyrgyzstan. Experts say that if the incoming products don’t meet the veterinary requirements of the Customs Union, the imports may be limited or even completely banned.

“We received the order to merge the activities of the two services – Rosselkhoznadzor and Customs to take special actions against poultry meat, coming from Kyrgyzstan. This measure in particular has been taken due to the fact that meat imports from the territory of Kyrgyzstan is several times higher than its production,” explained Vitali Kosnyrev, the head of the State Veterinary Control Department.