The news announcing the ban, and the corresponding message from Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, published on its official website on 26 May 2014, was false, according to Martina Kearney, press and information officer at Ireland’s Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Rosselkhoznadzor has confirmed the fact that the ban was not introduced, and the original message has been removed from the official agency’s website, although the Russian veterinary service has refused to comment on exactly how this could have happened.
As reported, specialists from Rosselkhoznadzor inspected animal and fish product establishments in Ireland, which are interested in exporting their products to the Customs Union, during the period from 11 to 21 May. However, the preliminary report on the inspections has not been published yet, so it would be too early to announce a ban on 26 May as there had not been enough time to draw conclusions from the inspections.
"The preliminary report on the inspection of Irish animal product establishments and fish processing establishments, for their compliance with the Customs Union and Russian animal health requirements, will be published on the Rosselkhoznadzor website in due course," said Rosselkhoznadzor in a new statement.
News of the ban was commented on by a large number of Russian market players and meat producer association representatives. Experts have raised concerns that such a move could exacerbate the problem of a shortage of beef in the Russian domestic market.
However, unofficial representatives from Rosselkhoznadzor noted that, despite the fact that the previous message was false, during the inspection several violations were revealed, and the office has claims against several manufacturers. Final conclusions will be published in the next two weeks.
According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, in 2013 imports of meat and meat offal from Ireland to Russia amounted to US$93m (29,000t), including approximately 10,000t of beef.