Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on January 14 that his country will stop importing U.S. chicken if the products continue to be treated with chlorinated water, according to Reuters.
"If some foreign suppliers do not want, or are unable to observe our safety demands, then we will have to use other sources,” Putin said. His country’s ban on chlorinated water in poultry processing went into effect on Jan. 1. Putin added that Russian poultry producers will have to step up production to make up for lost imports.
U.S. poultry exports to Russia totaled $800M in 2008, according to Reuters. The two nations are preparing for trade talks later in January.
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