The list of 27 US processing and storage facilities includes some owned by Tyson and Pilgrims Pride. In 2009, Russia accounted for 10 percent of Tyson's international chicken sales, amounting to $1.6 billion, according to Gary Mickelson, a Tyson spokesman.
The ban on imports of US chicken was based on Russia's disapproval of chicken processed with chlorinated rinses, which has been a standard sanitation method for US processors. The new rules "allow alternatives to chlorine solutions as cleaning agents, including peroxyacetic acid" which is now used by Pilgrim's Pride, according to Agrimoney.com.
In June, Russia and the US were able to find a resolution "in a deal seen as clearing the way for negotiations on Russia's entry to the World Trade Organization." Russia is an important market to US poultry companies, being the "biggest chicken export market last year" and "the world's top importer, buying in more than 900,000 tonnes of broiler meat."
To read the Denver post story, click here.
To read the Agrimoney.com story, click here.
Posted: 07/27/2010
