Meat production in Russia keeps growing

During this period, Russia manufactured a total of 5.42 million tonnes (t) of meat and poultry, up 3.1% compared to the same period last year, Rostat data has revealed.

Russian experts remain optimistic about further growth in the meat industry, even though, for the past decade, it has risen primarily due to the import-replacement program.

More production output​

During a meeting of the Russian Union of Pork Producers (RUPP) on 30 June, Eugene Nepoklonov, deputy head of Russia’s Agriculture Ministry, revealed that the Russian government was confident of seeing strong growth in the pig industry​ in the next few years.

In 2017, he said, total pork production would rise by 5% year-on-year to 4.57 million t, while in 2018 it would add another 3.4%, reaching 4.73 million t.

During the same meeting, RUPP released a forecast saying that, by 2020, the industrial pig sector would increase production capacity by 600,000t for pork, which would be slightly offset by a reduction in the private sector of 113,000t compared to 2016. All in all, by 2020, Russia should be producing 5.05 million t of pigmeat, according to RUPP.

Meanwhile, the Russian Union of Poultry Producers has forecast that the pace of growth in the poultry industry in 2017​ would be at its lowest rate for a decade, reaching 4.8 million t, which is 110,000t or just 2% up on 2016.

In the beef industry​, the situation remains unclear, as in early 2017 most experts were forecasting a fall in production of 1% to 1.5%. However, production is thought to be rising, even though, according to some reports, this is partly the result of unclear statistical data.

Market saturation​

Dmitry Rylko, general director of The Institute for Agricultural Market Studies (IKAR), told GlobalMeatNews​ that, in his opinion, the Russian poultry market reached saturation two years ago and its volume was now balancing out due to market stabilisation and a price reduction in the domestic currency for the country’s population. The pork market, he added, was getting close to being in a similar situation.

Rylko also noted that the Russian beef market was extremely uneven, as beef is manufactured both in the premium segment, and as a side-product of the dairy industry. At the same time, he noted, IKAR believed current statistics were overestimating beef production in the private sector. However, this year the industrial sector could see limited beef production growth of 0.5% to 1% compared to the last year, he said.

In the meantime, a spokesperson from the livestock department at the Agriculture Ministry told GlobalMeatNews​ that the poultry and pig markets were close to saturation, attributing this to the successful governmental import-replacement program. However, a further rise in production in these segments was still possible, he said, due to a projected rise in consumer purchasing power and some growth in meat consumption.

As for beef, the situation was different, the Ministry admitted, but it expected some positive trends thanks to a rise in output in the industrial segment.