Russia may turn its back to US corn and soy exporters

Russia may stop purchasing corn and soy in the USA effective October 1, 2002, announced Russian First Deputy Agricultural Minister Sergey Dankvert at an extended meeting of the committee for agriculture of the Russian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. According to him, it is connected with contradictions between Russian and US legislations. He stressed that the law on the state registration of genetically modified products would come into force in Russia on October 1, 2002. Under this law, Russian authorities will allow to import only officially registered products. In the USA "all grain is gathered in one elevator", as Dankvert put it, which makes it impossible to determine which grain type is registered in Russia and which is not. The deputy minister also said that at negotiations with US agricultural authorities Russia would raise the question of meat produced by feeding cattle with grain, which is not registered in Russia.