If these predictions are fulfilled, 2017 would be the strongest year for Russian pigmeat production for the last 25 years.
A spokesman of National Union for Pork Producers (NSS) told GlobalMeatNews that the increase is due to new production investments coming online. Currently pork accounts for 33% of total meat consumption in Russia, compared to 49% for chicken meat and 16% for beef, he noted.
A national union analyst stressed that the Russian pig herd is sufficiently large to benefit from major economies of scale, being currently estimated at 21.5m head.
He added that wholesale pork prices in Russia have been declining this year, from Russian Roubles RUB175 (USD2.95) to RUB148 (USD2.49) per kilogramme, which has boosted demand from domestic consumers.
According to data of Russia’s ministry of agriculture, annual demand for pork in Russia is currently estimated at 2.94m tonnes, almost entirely serviced by domestic production – so there will be significant coleus available for overseas exports.
A ministry official said Russian pork production was currently growing at 100,000 tonnes per month on average. If this rate is maintained over upcoming years, Russia will become one of the world’s largest pork exporters, with regular annual pigmeat exports of up to 1 million tonnes.
Sergey Aredakov, director of Aredakov & Partners enterprise, a pork and poultry producer in Voronezh, central Russia, said that such growth was realistic: “These figures may seem ambitious, however their achievement could be a reality. For comparison, total pork exports from the European Union states has amounted to 2m tonnes. So, the achievement of these export aims does not look unrealistic, if achieved over the next eight to 10 years.”
The expansion comes as leading local producers have announced their plans for the expansion of domestic production. For example, Rusagro, Russia’s second largest pigmeat producer, recently announced plans to expand production at its farm in the Primorye region in Pacific Russia. Vadim Moshkovich, chairman of Rusagro, said that after this expansion, the farm will have the capacity to produce 400,000 tonnes of pork per year. A significant part of future production will be exported to nearby China, where the demand for pork has significantly increased in recent years.