American beef back on Russian tables

Deliveries of beef from the U.S. to Russia, which resume this year after a five-year ban, are predicted to amount to 16,000 tonnes in 2008, according to a release from the U.S. Food Products information campaign.

Before the ban took effect in 2003, the U.S. was exporting about 61,000 tonnes of beef to Russia.

Russia's demand for beef is forecast to continue climbing, due to the fast-developing food sector and a domestic shortage of beef products.

The U.S. Meat Export Federation says importing American beef will be attractive to Russia because of the weak dollar.