Growers look to make hay in Russia

The vast opportunities suddenly made available within the Russian market have been grasped by other Chinese provinces.

Over the weekend, two Heilongjiang-based subsidiaries of China's biggest meat processor Shuanghui Group revealed they had exported 800 tons of pork to St Petersburg－the first Chinese pork shipped to Russia since 2004 when its meat product watchdog banned Chinese pork for veterinary reasons.

Russia's trade representative in China, Alexei Gruzdev, has been reported by Russian news agency TASS as saying China is now looking to increase the number of approved pork suppliers to Russia from the current two companies to 10.

Officials in Shandong, one of China's most developed agricultural regions, have also announced it expects more exports to Russia in the coming months, after its year-on-year agricultural exports grew 15.1 percent to $370 million in the first eight months of the year.

Lyu Wei, deputy head of Shandong's commerce department, said: "Shandong has the ability to meet Russia's demand for fruit and vegetables in both quality and quantity.

"More and more agribusiness firms are showing greater interest in exploring the Russian market."

WH Group get necessary approvals from meat products regulators	Exporters eyeing boost in Russian business