Pork and poultry products will be the first to enter the Russian Federation using the paperless system.
The paperless animal health e-certification system is already operating for pork and poultry products exported from Chile to the Russian Federation, after officials from both countries finalized the preparations to begin using this completely digital system for trade on January 22nd.
The Chilean Minister of Agriculture, María Emilia Undurraga, said that “this is very good news for our country, as it becomes the first paperless e-certification experience for the Chilean livestock sector. It represents a huge step forward for our exporters that will allow their products to access this market easily with significant savings in processing.”
In turn, the National Director of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), Horacio Bórquez, recounted that “coordination started in 2014, when both countries signed a Work Plan for Cooperation in E-Certification that allowed the use of animal health e-certificates as an official pre-notice of shipments, using a point-to-point connection between both health authorities’ systems.”
According to Rodrigo Castañón, Business Manager of ChileCarne, the Chilean Meat Exporters’ Association, “we started advocating for this in August 2018, in particular during a joint mission trip from ChileCarne and SAG’s representatives, so as to move forward and obtain the paperless animal health certification with Russia.”
Castañón explained that “although current volumes of pork exported to Russia are lower, the country has been a relevant export destination for Chile in recent years.”
ChileCarne’s representative added that progress is also being made to implement e-certification with South Korea, one of the main destinations for Chilean pork exports. Similar efforts for poultry exports are focusing on the United States and Mexico.
Adolfo Ochagavía, Acting Director of the Office of Agricultural Research and Policies (ODEPA), pointed out that “this achievement is the result of inter-institutional joint efforts. The support of the Chilean Agricultural Office in Russia was key to coordinating both communications and negotiations with Russian officials. Undoubtedly, it facilitated reaching this relevant milestone involving a commitment from our government to move forward in electronic certification with other countries.”
After this agreement, both countries will continue to cooperate in e-certification to expand the use of this technological tool for other products and facilitate trade.
