Moscow - Russia, in compliance with its accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), will introduce new import duties on several types of meat and live animals on August 23.
The unified customs tariff for the Customs Union, which has been confirmed by the Eurasian Commission, lowers the import duty on live pigs, which was previously 40% or no less than 0.5 euro per kilogram, to 5%. Imports of pure-bred breeding pigs will continue to have a zero-duty.
Russia is reducing to zero the duty on pork imports within the quota (the duty was previously 15% but no less than 0.25 euro/kg). The duty on pork imported outside the quota is dropping from the previous 75% but no less than 1.5 euro/kg to 65%.
Duties on poultry meat are not changing. Poultry imports within the quota have a duty of 25% but no less than 0.2 euro/kg, and imports outside the quota are charged at 80% but no less than 0.7 euro/kg.
If Russia does not impose quotas on poultry imports, the import duty will be 37.5%.
The duty on beef imports is remaining virtually unchanged. It will now have a 15% duty (currently 15% but no less than 1 euro/kg) within the quota, and the duty outside the quota will remain 50% but no less than 1 euro/kg.
According to the Russian Agriculture Ministry, the country’s farmers produced 1.088 million tonnes of pork (in live weight) in January-July of this year, which is 13.2% more than they produced in the same period of last year. The hog population expanded 12.6% to almost 13 million head. Hog imports from the beginning of 2012 to August 15 were down from 418,400 tonnes at the same time last year to 405,500 tonnes.
