FX.co ★ Russia to ban Australian beef imports

Rosselkhoznadzor may impose a ban on beef shipments from Australia to Russia, Itar Tass said citing Sergei Dankvert, head of Russia's Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, Rosselkhoznadzor.
“The trenbolone steroid was found to have been put in Australian beef again. It means that the country does not fulfill the program to combat this growth stimulant which they declared,” Dankvert said.
Rosselkhoznadzor discovered trenbolone in the portion of meat shipped to Russia in February 2014 i.e. after Australia pledged not to allow the presence of trenbolone in exported beef as this substance is prohibited in the customs union led by Russia.
Rosselkhoznadzor sees this as a failure to fulfill obligations, which entails serious consequences, Dankvert mentioned. According to him, the best scenario would be the ban on chilled meat as the organization says it does not have time to check it for trenbolone. In the meantime, Rosselkhoznadzor said the worst scenario suggests imposing a ban on overall beef imports from Australia.
In January 2014 Rosselkhoznadzor slapped a ban on Australian beef by-products. Earlier in 2013 it traced the prohibited growth hormone trenbolone in a small number of export consignments. Russian market accounts for approximately 5% of Australia’s total exports. During 2013, Russia imported about 611 thousand tons of beef from Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.