Russia: to ban or not to ban

Russia lifted a ban on cattle imports from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul on April 4, according to the Interfax news agency. The ban was imposed on December 13 last year because of an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in Brazil. However, a ban on cattle imports from six other Brazilian states remains in force. On the other hand, the Russian authorities announced a ban on imports of all types of meat products from Sweden in early April following an outbreak of BSE in the country, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. Ukraine's Agrarian Policy Minister, Oleksandr Baranivsky, said in early April that Ukraine intends to ban the importation of livestock products from Russia, according to the Interfax news agency. Baranivsky said that these products will be banned because of their poor quality.