Brazil hopes to resolve a dispute over exports of pork to Russia, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said after talks with President Vladimir Putin on Friday on how the emerging-market powerhouses can boost trade.
Moscow's tightening of requirements for the importation of meat has threatened to ruffle relations between Brazil and Russia, one of its largest meat export markets and a a fellow member of the BRICS group of large emerging-market nations.
"We hope for the successful resolution of the problems that emerged [over] Brazilian pork exports," Rousseff said following talks with Putin during a two-day visit to the Russian capital.
Russia is eager to make a success of its yearlong presidency of the G20, which began this month, and increase trade with countries such as Brazil, the world's sixth-largest economy. Russia is No. 9.
"We cannot be satisfied" with last year's bilateral trade volume of $6.5 billion, Putin said. "We must reach a level of at least $10 billion in the near future."
For Brazil, whose economy is set to grow just 1 percent this year, Russia is a crucial export market for beef and pork where it competes with North America, Australia, Europe and others.
Russia stepped up tests on U.S. and Canadian meat imports for traces of feed additive ractopamine, a beta blocker that promotes muscle growth in animals including pigs and cattle. Russia also demanded that both countries certify their meat as ractopamine-free.
Brazil temporarily banned the import and sale of some ractopamine products last month, and Russia's food safety watchdog said Thursday that the move could lead to an increase in Brazilian exports to Russia.
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