Russia aims for 70% decrease in meat imports through investment
Vladimir Labinov, head of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Breeding at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that such a big investment would enable the country to boost production of meat from 8.5 million tonnes (t) in 2014 to 10 million t by 2020, while decreasing meat imports by 68% to about 400,000t-500,000t. In 2013, Russia imported 2.82 million t of meat, while last year, according to preliminary estimates, this figure dropped almost twofold.
“It is planned that pork imports will drop from 620,000t in 2014 to 185,000t in 2017, while supplies of poultry meat imports will decline from 549,000t in 2014 to 158,000t in 2017,” added Labinov. “In this forecast, Russia’s Ministry of Agriculture is taking into account the projected reduction of output from farms for several reasons – in particular pig farms due to the spread of African swine fever (ASF).”
Market participants said the program would be significant for the country’s meat industry. In particular, head of the National Meat Union (NMU) Mushegh Mamikonian believed it would affect not only production, but also consumption of meat. He said: “In 2015, poultry should account for 45% of Russia’s total consumption of meat, pork 35% and beef 20%. By 2020, the share of pork will not change, but the consumption of poultry will increase to 50% and beef will drop to 15%.” In 2013, the total consumption of meat in Russia amounted to 10.6 million t, but should decrease by 4-5%, according to the NMU’s forecast.
Yuri Kovalev, head of the Russian Union of Pig Producers (RUPP), estimated that the total amount of investment in the pig industry, given the state funding, should be about RUB20bn (US$3.8bn), which would allow the country to commission new facilities to produce 1 million t of pork. However, the overall increase in pork production during this period would only amount to 0.5 million t, due to the closure of old pig farms, and farms with low levels of biological protection which could not withstand ASF.
The head of the executive committee of the Russian National Meat Association Sergey Yushin said that, by 2020, Russia would reach the goal provided by the food security doctrine – to produce more than 85% of all types of meat being consumed in the country. At the same time, he believed that, to remain stable after such growth, the Russian meat industry would need to develop export supplies. “We are currently working on this with China and the European Union, and are conducting informal talks with Canada,” he stated, adding that these negotiations would not be concluded for some three to four years.
