Russia ban to include German poultry from today

Russia expanded a pork ban from Germany to include poultry today, Chief Veterinary Official Nikolai Vlasov said.

The ban on poultry imports may end in mid-February, Vlasov said at a news conference in Moscow today. The ban on pork imports may end by April, he said.

The European Union agreed yesterday to pay for private storage of pig meat to support farmers, following a record drop in German pork prices last week after animal feed in the country was found to contain the chemical dioxin.