Russia looks to expand list of approved pork suppliers from China

"China has indicated its willingness to increase the supply of pork to Russia and expand the number of supplier companies from the current two to 10,"​ said Alexey Gruzdev, Russia’s trade representative in China. "At least eight companies have submitted applications for the supply of pork to Russia. Rosselkhoznadzor has already initiated their inspections."​

In August, two Chinese suppliers of pork received permission from Rosselkhoznadzor to export products to Russia. Both of them belong to the world’s largest producer of pork WH Group.

Sources at Rosselkhoznadzor have stated that the expanding of Russia’s list of suppliers from China is a closed issue and relevant decisions will be made within a couple of weeks.

Head of Rosselkhozndazor Sergei Dankvert emphasised that the expansion of the approved suppliers’ list would depend upon the compliance of manufacturers with regards to the country’s biological safety requirements.

On 11 October, Russia purchased its first shipment of pork from China in 10 years, according to official information from Rosselkhoznadzor. It was a batch of 800 tonnes (t), which was supplied under the supervision of Russia’s veterinary specialists, who oversaw its production and packaging process.

Various forecasts say Chinese pork export to Russia could amount to 15,000t-25,000t in 2014, while next year this figure could grow to 50,000t–70,000t. However, industry representatives doubt China has a chance of replacing the European Union as the largest supplier of pork to Russia.

"First, we should understand there are virtually no new meat exporters to Russia. The Russian market has been actively importing meat for more than 20 years, and all the countries that are able to supply us with meat – at a reasonable price and with the level of security that meets our sanitary and veterinary requirements – are already known. We also know all their competitive advantages or disadvantages,"​ commented the head of the executive committee of the National Meat Association Sergey Yushin.

"For our processing industry, pork from China is not the same as, for example, pork from Brazil. These are two different goods. But we don’t have much choice,"​ he added.

Yuiry Kovalev, chairman of the Russian Union of Pig Producers, said it was unlikely China would be able to supply pork to Russia in the required quantities, as the country would need to cover its own demand in pork production.

In his opinion, the pork deficit situation in Russia is very tough.

"There is now a shortage of pork on the domestic Russian market. The ban [on the imports of meat from the US, EU and other countries, as of 7 August] cut the imports of pork by 1 million tonnes. Due to the growing shortage of pork, even poultry prices are growing. People switched to cheaper proteins, which boosts both the demand and the price of meat,"​ he added.