Rosselkhoznadzor awaiting specialists from China to audit pork exporters by mid-December

MOSCOW. Nov 27 (Interfax) - Inspections of Russian pork producers interested in exporting their products to the Chinese market by Chinese specialists could begin in mid-December.

"We are tentatively expecting our Chinese colleagues in the first half of December," the press service of Rosselkhoznadzor told Interfax. Details of the visit are still being finalized.

An assessment by specialists from China's General Administration of Customs (GTU) of potential Russian pork suppliers is one of the stages that opens the path for Russian pork to the Chinese market. In September of this year, China's State Technical University announced it had issued permission to supply pork from Russia. The decision was made based on a risk assessment and analysis of Russia's state control system for African swine fever (ASF). The Chinese side also recognized the regionalization principle in force in Russia, which allows exports of pork from regions where there is no ASF. Thus, restrictions imposed by China in 2008 were lifted.

Meanwhile, as the Ministry of Economic Development previously reported, before starting actual shipments, a few things need to happen, which may require from three to 12 months. These are, in particular, the signing of a protocol on the requirements for pork supplied by Russia to China, the approval of a veterinary certificate for the export of pork, the certification of Russian enterprises producing pig products, and the registration of these Russian enterprises in CIFER, China's food supplier system.

According to the Ministry of Economic Development, Russian pork will begin to arrive in China no earlier than the second or third quarter of 2024.

Russia has exported 141,000 tonnes of pork and 41,000 tonnes of pork by-products through November 17 of this year, Rosselkhoznadzor said. At the end of the year, the National Union of Pig Breeders estimates exports will total 220,000 tonnes.