The quota for poultry imports may be slashed to 400,000 tonnes with around 70 percent of that coming from the United States, Musheg Mamikonyan, who leads the meat producers' lobby group, said on the sidelines of a conference in Moscow.
The United States shipped 733,000 tonnes of poultry meat to Russia in 2009 and the U.S. quota for 2010 was set at 600,000 tonnes, although Russia allowed other suppliers to use a quarter of it.
Quotas for beef and pork imports will be kept at levels earlier announced by the Economy Ministry, Mamikonyan added.
He said, citing Meat Union estimates, that local production of poultry will grow 13 percent this year to reach 2.9 million tonnes and will add 10 percent more in 2011.
Pork production is seen growing at 8-9 percent in 2010 and at 10 percent next year, Mamikonyan said.
Russia could become self-sufficient in poultry meat and pork before 2013, the head of the country's top meat producer Cherkizovo told a Reuters Summit in September.
Earlier this year Russian authorities said the country should also focus on exporting meat itself, aiming to sell $1.5 billion-$2.0 billion worth of poultry meat and pork by 2020. (Reuters)
