Russia's veterinary agency said it had lifted limits on beef imports from three Brazilian plants, but the restrictions remained on some other suppliers in Brazil. The three plants are owned by JBS, the world's biggest producer of beef, Marfrig Alimentos SA and Mataboi Alimentos, the Russian veterinary and phytosanitary service (VPSS) said on its website www.fsvps.ru. In early October Russia limited beef and pork imports from 10 Brazilian suppliers, citing an unspecified breach of rules. Russia, one of Brazil's largest meat export markets, had expected to buy more meat from Brazil after Moscow banned imports from most U.S., Canadian and Mexican suppliers over fears about feed additives. The Brazilian Agriculture Ministry said in October the suspensions had hit six JBS plants, two units of local meat packer Minerva, one unit of Marfrig and one from Pamplona. It was unclear when the limits were introduced on shipments from Mataboi. JBS had said it did not expect sales to be affected by the restrictions and that it would reroute beef from other plants to Russia. Russia imported 825,200 tons of red meat worth $3.2 billion from countries outside the Commonwealth of Independent States in the first nine months of 2013, according to official customs data. (Reuters)