The Irish meat industry could be badly hit after Russia blocked meat imports from the European Union in a dispute over veterinary certificates.
The dispute has left beef, pork and poultry piling up at ports and threatening millions of euro in trade.
"From June 1st, new veterinary certificates became effective and therefore we have stopped accepting meat shipments from the European Union accompanied by old certificates," a spokeswoman from Russia's agriculture ministry said in Moscow.
Russia originally wanted a deal on a new EU-wide veterinary export certificate by May 1st, in time for the bloc's enlargement, but negotiations failed. It extended the deadline to June 1st before suspending imports.
The Irish Meat Association said Ireland could be hit hard by the suspension as it was a significant beef exporter to Russia.
"This is a major disappointment," the IMA Chief Executive Mr Cormac Healy said. "It's a major blow to our industry if the Russian market is now closed off. We need to get back around the table and find a solution to the problem so that the trade can continue."
In Brussels, EU officials said they believed the problem was a result of a mix-up.
"We're surprised. We're insisting that the deadline for the certificates be extended beyond June 1st," European Commission spokesman Gregor Kreuzhuber said. "We are now in contact with the Russian authorities to sort this out as soon as possible."
In Moscow, the government spokeswoman confirmed that EU diplomats had held talks at the ministry but said Russia would continue to accept only the new certificates.
Russia has set red meat and poultry meat import quotas for 2004 as part of a policy to cut food imports and encourage domestic livestock and poultry breeding. The EU is Russia's main supplier of beef, it comes second to Brazil in supplying pork and second to the United States for poultry.
For 2004, the EU may export 205,000 tonnes of poultry meat to Russian markets, 227,300 tonnes of pork, 331,800 tonnes of frozen beef and 27,000 tonnes of fresh beef.
The main meat exporters are Ireland and Germany for beef, Denmark and Spain for pork and France for poultry.