USMEF: American meat shippers have “tremendous potential” in Russia
The head of the country’s largest trade group dedicated to American meat exports told shippers there are “tremendous potential” in the Russian market, but they will have to be patient with problems.“Because of the delays and difficulties seen with opening and dealing with the Russian market, a lot of people in this industry have become discouraged,” said Philip M. Seng, president and chief executive officer of the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), in a statement.
“But USMEF has tremendous contacts in both eastern and western Russia, and can introduce U.S. suppliers to buyers in that country,” Seng said. “Russia is changing, and presenting some great opportunities.”
USMEF has offices in both Moscow and St. Petersburg to help connect U.S. meat exporters with Russian buyers.
The United States and Russia signed a bilateral market access agreement Sunday that takes Russia another step closer to becoming a member of the World Trade Organization.
The agreement made significant strides to improve Russia’s handling of U.S. agricultural imports. Effective immediately, Russia will apply international norms and science-based measures that address impediments to U.S. beef and pork products.
Much of the distrust among U.S. suppliers is due to past disruptions in meat trade caused by the Russians, Seng said. Some of these disruptions have been the result of international disagreements, while many have been domestic challenges in Russia itself, he added.
