Russia is expected to lift the ban on the import of Hungarian live pigs, pork meat and pork products in mid-March, Chief Veterinarian Endre Kardeván announced.

The Ministry of Rural Development's Minister of State for Food Chain Supervision and Agricultural Administration made the announcement at a meeting with the country's county chief veterinarians on Wednesday. Mr. Kardeván reminded those present that the Customs Union established between the Russian Federation, Belarus and Ukraine has stopped imports of pork from the EU, including Hungary, after an outbreak of African swine fever was registered in Lithuania. The disease's pathogen has since been found in Polish wild boar.

Talks began between the EU's animal health authorities and the director of Rosselhoznadzor, Russia's food industry and agricultural product supervisory authority, in the interests of finding a solution to the situation, which was also a subject of discussion at both the recent meeting of EU agriculture ministers and a chief veterinarians' workshop. Pints of view seem to be converging with regard to a possible solution to the problem in talks between Russia and the EU, the Minister of State noted.

Mr. Kardeván referred to the fact that a continued ban is expected to only be valid for regions in which the disease has been detected. Import would be allowed for the other regions, countries, country regions of the EU, providing the given regions conform to an audit performed by the Russian authorities and the Customs Union.

Hungary is in a favourable position in this regard, Mr. Kardeván said, because Russian food safety inspectors have been conducting a previously planned monitoring throughout the country for the past week and a half, during the course of which they are examining 21 Hungarian pork production plants, export companies, meat processing plants and pig farms. This means that there is an increasing chance that Hungary will be placed back on the list somewhat earlier and will be able to export live pigs and pork to Russia. Exports are expected to begin again in mid-March, the Minster of State said.

(MTI, Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)