Pilgrim’s Pride said it will resume export shipments to Russia tomorrow (4 September).
The firm said today that it will resume exports after the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) finalised certificates that must accompany the shipments.
Pilgrim’s has four Russia-approved processing plants that are currently packing product for Russia. They are located in Boaz, Russellville, Athens, and Dallas. The company said it expects shipments to Russia to begin loading at US ports tomorrow.
“Demand from Russia is very strong. We have sold out our entire Russian-approved production for the next 30 days and prices have continued to strengthen,” said Don Jackson, Pilgrim’s president and chief executive. “Russia is an important export market for U.S. chicken and the re-opening of the borders will be a significant benefit to our company and industry.”
In July, Russian officials signed a formal poultry agreement with the US outlining new processing requirements for domestic chicken that is to be exported to Russia. Earlier this year, Russia had banned all US chicken that had been processed with chlorinated water.
Under the new requirements approved in July, US chicken companies can replace the chlorinated rinse with cetylpyridinium chloride, peroxyacetic acid or hydrogen peroxide.
