Russia will suspend imports of Chinese pork, beef and poultry from March 15, according to the Russian agriculture ministry. The decision was made after China failed to co-operate with Russian veterinary services. A spokesman for the agriculture ministry said that Russian veterinary officials are now in China to monitor the loading of meat exports.

The move comes only a week after the ministry decided to suspend imports of US poultry from March 10 and to stop issuing licenses for these imports from March 1, due to food safety concerns.