Russia’s Miratorg targets Asia for $100m export push

13-Mar-2017 - Last updated on 13-Mar-2017 at 12:24 GMT

Russian meat companies will head to Shanghai next month to promote meat sales

Russian meat company Miratorg wants to see its export revenue rise to as much as $100m this year, and a major product push at a Chinese trade show is underway to satisfy this ambition.

Agro-industrial holding Miratorg claims to be Russia’s largest beef and pork producer, and while Russia does not have access to the Chinese market, it expects to unlock the coveted country this year.

In a bid to dazzle the market, Miratorg will present more than 400 products at the trade show SIAL China, which runs from 17-19 May in the business capital Shanghai.

The company said it was ready to start supplying large volumes of beef and pork to China, should the country allow Russia to start exporting agricultural goods this year. With a target of growing exports up to $80m-$100m this year, Miratorg said Asian markets were key for export growth.

‘Competition’

There is intense competition in China’s pork market from the EU, Canada and Brazil, and gaining market share in Japan’s beef market may be tricky as it is dominated by Australia and America. Still, Miratorg said it was “ready for competition in the global market”.

Russia has recently been certified to export thermally processed meat products to Japan. Miratorg said the trend to lower restrictions on Russian meat products in Asia was something that would continue, thanks to public and private sector work to knock down trading barriers.

Earlier this year, Russia’s Minister of Agriculture, Alexandr Tkachev, said the country wanted to increase meat exports tenfold to one million tonnes a year by 2020.

SIAL is one of the world’s largest food and drink trade shows, with exhibitions taking place in China, the United Arab Emirates and France.