July 31 2002, 17:10 UNIAN

Ukraine and USA hold talks on renewal US chicken imports to Ukraine

According the Chief Veterinarian of Ukraine Petro Verbytsky, negotiations between Ukraine and USA about renewal of poultry meat imports to Ukraine continue.

He said Ukraine was ready to resume US poultry imports provided US exporters observed Ukrainian legislation, allowing no antibiotic diet for poultry growth stimulation, no disinfectants or preservatives for chicken conservation.

Ukrainian Veterinary Service is ready to permit import of poultry from those farms where antibiotics and preservatives are not used. American chicken imports into Ukraine are possible so long as US poultry producers can prove that above substances were not used in meat production, Verbitsky said.

However US poultry import ban did not cause product deficit in Ukrainian market in 2002. According to Verbitsky, domestic production of broiler meat will be almost doubled by the end of this year - up to 120,000 tons from 67,000 tons last year. In 2001 nearly 60,000 tons of chicken products were imported.

Petro Verbytsky also informed that usage of GM plants for animal and poultry feeding was now considered legislatively in Ukraine.