Alibaba reports that in the first two weeks of December, Russia imported 20,000 metric tons of pork, 25,000 tons of beef and 32,500 tons of poultry, which indicates that total imports in December will be considerably lower than in previous months, the national meat producers' association.

For comparison, the normal average monthly pork import was 62,500 tons, the meat producers' association said. Beef import in October was 75,000 tons and in September 81,000 tons. The amount of poultry imported in the first two weeks of December was half of the amount imported in the corresponding period in December 2007.

The main reasons for the falling imports are that storage facilities in Russia are overstocked, while importers are experiencing cash flow problems caused by the current international financial crisis.