The Russian agriculture safety watchdog has imposed a temporary ban on imports of beef and beef products from New Zealand, effective February 6.
“The measure comes after the feed additive Ractopamine, a stimulant fertilizer for promoting muscle growth, has been discovered in some samples,” the watchdog spokesperson said.
The watchdog also said that it might ban fish imports from New Zealand due to traces of mercury in some supplies.
New Zealand is not one of the Western countries facing a Russian food ban. Moscow introduced the measure in 2014 in response to sanctions imposed by the US, EU and their allies over Russia’s alleged role in the Ukraine crisis.
The ban Russia plans to impose on the beef would be disruptive because of the uncertainty, but it's the reality of being in the food business, Special Agricultural Trade Envoy Mike Petersen told Radio New Zealand.
The ban would not affect the country's trade relationship with Moscow, Petersen said, adding that further testing would show beef from New Zealand was clean.
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