Import bans jack up Russian beef prices
Regional departments of the Russian State Statistics Service have observed the same trend in almost all regions of the country, with the prices for high-quality beef rising particularly quickly.
Given the situation, Russian officials are urgently trying to find new suppliers. Head of Russia’ National Meat Association Sergey Yushin said he expected Australian beef on the Russian market to be replaced by supplies from Latin America, initially from Uruguay.
"According to our information, in 2013 Russia imported 35,000t of frozen [beef] products and 100t of chilled from Uruguay, while shipments from Paraguay amounted to 522t of chilled beef products. In the same period, Australia supplied 24,400t of frozen beef and 2,500t of chilled products. [Uruguay] suppliers should be able to replace supplies from Australia," he said.
Russian veterinary watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor, which has banned imports of beef from Australia, said it was also aiming to allow imports of beef from Japan, which is a large producer of marbled beef and could potentially be an interesting supplier.
"Rosselkhoznadzor hopes Japan will become the new importer of high-quality beef products, and we have almost agreed veterinary certificates with Tokyo," said the watchdog’s press service.
Meanwhile, restaurant and retail commentators have noted that nobody wants to purchase Russian beef: although it is 20% cheaper than imported beef, its quality is much worse in terms of taste and nutritional content.
"The situation is close to catastrophic," said Anton Zbritsky, head of large St Petersburg restaurant chain Bullhouse. "Apart from Australia, imports of meat from the US have also been banned and the extreme shortage of supply has affected not only us, but also large retailers such as ABC Taste and Globus Gourmet."
The problem is that not only has Rosselkhoznadzor banned beef imports from Australia, but has also restricted the supplies from several important sources in recent years.
"Previously Rosselkhoznadzor banned imports of beef from the US. From Australia we purchased marbled beef, while from the US we obtained rib-eye steaks," said Alexey Volkov, CEO of restaurant holding firm Ginza Project. "Just recently, the supervisory authority banned meat imports from Mexico and reduced the list of suppliers from Canada and Brazil, thus cutting any possibility of restoring imports of high-quality beef.
"The supply situation has already seriously affected the price, which has jumped on average to RUB1,600 (US$44.50)," he added.
Meanwhile, analytical agency Agrorucom commented: "It is clear the price has still not reached its maximum level. The current situation may benefit any potential new importers; while it is very hard to match the demands of the Russian vets, the Russian market is now offering very attractive prices."
