Russia agrees on rise in wheat export to China, securing approval for other grains - Putin
MOSCOW. July 4 (Interfax) - Russia and China have discussed issues surrounding access of Russian meat products to the Chinese market; negotiations for the document providing Russian grain crops access to China is in the final stage of agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin said following a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
"We are seeing significant opportunities for cooperation in the agricultural sector. Last year Russian agricultural exports rose 17% to $1.6 billion," Putin said.
"In addition, a decision to increase Russian wheat exports has been taken, agreement on the document to allow access for wheat and other grain crops to the Chinese market is in the final stage," the president said.
"Lifting restrictions on the import of Russian meat and poultry goods into China was also discussed," Putin said.
Only four Russian regions currently have the right to export wheat to China; the Altai and Krasnoyarsk territories, Omsk and Novosibirsk regions. The documents permitting exports were signed at the end of 2015, however, actual trading is currently in small amounts and only started this year.
The Russian and Chinese phytosanitary services have discussed expanding the number of regions able to export wheat to China. In addition, the product range of grain exports could be widened to include barley and buckwheat.
The ban of imports of Russian grain to China came into effect in 1997 due to the spread of dwarf bunt in Russia, a quarantine organism in China. In 2005 Russia proposed China buy wheat cultivated in the Siberian Federal District, where the dwarf bunt pathogen had not spread.
Following inspections by Chinese specialists in 2006 and 2015, the Siberian Federal District was declared free of the dwarf bunt pathogen.
China also permitted shipments of corn, rice and soy grown in Khabarovsk, Primorye and Trans-Baikal territories, Amur Region and the Jewish Autonomous Region as well as rapeseed from the Siberian and Far East federal districts.
In March Deputy Agriculture Minister Yevgeny Nepoklonov said that Russia and China were concluding an agreement on shipments of Russian poultry meat to the Chinese market. He said that there were specific difficulties in talks on supplies of pork and beef to China as Russia has registered cases of animal disease infections.
