Russian and U.S. agriculture officials report progress on solving poultry dispute

MOSCOW - The Russian Agriculture Ministry is willing to waive an Aug. 1 deadline to give U.S. poultry manufacturers more time to prepare new veterinary certificates for their chicken exports to Russia, an official said Wednesday. <br> <br> ``Technically, it will take some time to print the new certificates,&#39;&#39; said Sergei Kuznetsov, spokesman for the Russian Agriculture Ministry. ``We recognize that.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Earlier, Russia had warned that it would ban all U.S. poultry imports without the new certificate beginning Aug. 1. But Kuznetsov said Wednesday that Russia has agreed to continue accepting the old certificates ``probably for a month or two.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> The Russian government imposed a ban on U.S. poultry imports in March, citing concerns about sanitary conditions at U.S. plants and cases of salmonella in imported chicken. The ban was lifted a month later, after the United States promised to tighten export controls, but new bureaucratic hurdles have delayed a full resumption of imports. <br> <br> Prior to the dispute, U.S. producers in 38 states sent $600 million to $700 million worth of poultry to Russia each year - making chicken the largest U.S. export to Russia. <br> <br> J.B. Penn, U.S. Undersecretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, said Tuesday after negotiations with his Russian counterpart that he expected the dispute to be wrapped up within days. <br> <br> ``We are pleased with the very considerable progress that has been made during the course of these negotiations,&#39;&#39; Penn said in a statement. ``We fully expect to conclude this matter so that U.S. poultry trade to Russia can resume.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> A U.S. Embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the United States on Wednesday planned to provide draft documents regarding the new veterinary certificate to the Russians. <br> <br> If those documents, drawn up during Tuesday&#39;s negotiations, meet Moscow&#39;s demands, the dispute will be over, the U.S. Embassy official and the Russian agriculture spokesman said. <br> <br> The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that the latest discussions centered on testing requirements, inspection guidelines, hygienic demands and documentation procedures. <br> <br> <br>

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