EU meat certification could hit trade with Russia

IRISH beef processors warned yesterday that trade with Russia could again be disrupted later this year over European meat certification issues.

Russia wants the 25 EU member states to use a uniform food safety veterinary certificate rather than individual documents to cover all meat imports from the region, worth €1.3 billion a year to European producers.

Ireland sells about 75,000 tonnes of beef with a trade value of over €100 million to Russia, this country’s biggest beef customer outside the EU.