US chicken industry responds to Russian import ban

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to establish restrictions on imports of agricultural products from countries that have imposed economic sanctions on Russia as a result of the ongoing situation in Ukraine.

Although the decree did not specify the products that would be affected, it instructs the Russian government to establish a list of commodities to be restricted, and states that restrictions would be effective for one year. The decree also instructs officials to ensure that restrictions prevent price increases and to establish market-control measures to increase supplies of domestic goods.

In response to the decree, the National Chicken Council and USA Poultry & Egg Export Council released the following statement:

“We have learned that poultry is one of the commodities to be included on the list. Russia is the second-leading market for US chicken, in terms of volume. In 2013 the US exported about 267,000 metric tons of chicken to Russia valued at $303 million. As its domestic poultry industry has expanded, Russia has in recent years become less important as an export market. Russia currently accounts for only about 7% of total US poultry export volume. In the mid-1990s, exports to Russia were as much as 40% of that total.

“As a result, we do not expect that a Russian ban on US poultry imports will have a great impact on our industry. The biggest impact, we believe, will be on Russian citizens who will be burdened by higher prices for all food products, especially meat and poultry. The price of poultry in Russia is already rising and has recently been increasing at a rate of 2-3% per week.

“Our industry believes that free and fair trade – particularly with food – should never be used as a political bargaining chip. We look forward to working with the US government to resolve this issue and resume normal trade relations with Russia as soon as possible.”