Milk import ban may cause problems to Russia

Euroradio
09/06/2009 - 16:49
Society
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A recent ban on imports of dairy
products from Belarus will not affect the Russian market in a short term but
may cause problems in the future, Interfax quoted agricultural market analyst
Tatyana Rybalova as saying.

  She said that Belarus processes more than 5 million tons of milk per year with 40 percent of the dairy output being sold abroad. Russia accounts for more than 90 percent of the country's dairy exports, Rybalova said. Belarusian dairy producers account for no more than seven percent of the market.

 

Rybalova said Belarusian farms may dump prices to sell their products. This would create new problems, she added.

 

Russia’s consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor banned the import of some 500 titles of Belarusian dairy products last week and later announced plans to add 800 more titles to the ban list. The agency cited the producers’ failure to obtain necessary permits in accordance with Russia’s new food standards in effect since December 2008.