Russia to import carabeef from India

 The Dollar Business Bureau   Russia has allowed carabeef (buffalo meat) imports from India, following talks between phyto-sanitary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor and India’s Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) which falls under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India.  The move comes a few days ahead of Russian President Vladimir V. Putin’s visit to India. Rosselkhoznadzor said that it, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan, has included some Indian exporters on its buffalo meat import list. The companies included in the customs territory of the Customs Union are Fair Exports Pvt.Ltd, Frigerio Conserva Allana Limited, Frigorifico Allana Limited, and Amroon Foods Pvt. Ltd.

Source - APEDA

Indian officials have been in talks with Russia over meat and agriculture exports after the Ukraine crisis led to Russia banning food items from Europe and USA. Last week, top officials of Rosselkhoznadzor and APEDA held a telephonic conversation to finalise the formalities. Both Rosselkhoznadzor and APEDA have defined and agreed the terms of buffalo meat export from India to Russia and have signed a bilateral protocol on safety of buffalo meat exports to Russia. India is the world’s largest carabeef producer and accounts for around 43% of global carabeef production, but exports to Russia have been small so far partly due to phyto-sanitary concerns. To address concerns on safety, Rosselkhoznadzor will depute its veterinarians permanently in India to monitor the preparation and dispatch of buffalo meat destined for export into Russia. The veterinarians will sign and stamp export veterinary certificates on a mandatory basis, said Rosselkhoznadzor. It is expected that Russia will also begin imports of dairy, vegetables and fruits, and seafood products from India soon. Last week, Rosselkhoznadzor imposed temporary restrictions on import of poultry and meat products from USA, Italy and Germany and will not review the restrictions until January 2015.    

This article was published on December 8, 2014.