Beef crosses the line. The export of this meat is growing by more than 200%

The reduction in domestic consumption of beef and the rise in prices for it in the world, primarily in CHINA, led to a rise in the EXPORT of Russian producers. According to the results of the first half of the year, deliveries can grow by 223%, up to 21.26 thousand tons, which significantly exceeds the dynamics for other types of MEAT. Producers of pork and poultry cannot increase their supplies due to the saturation of foreign markets.

According to the results of the first half of the year, beef exports from the Russian Federation may grow by 223%, up to 21.26 thousand tons, the National Union of Pig Breeders (NSS) predicts. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, from January 1 to May 23, 2021, 16.8 thousand tons of beef were sent abroad for $55.2 million, which is 5.6 times more in physical and 4.2 times in monetary terms than for the same period of 2020. The main buyer (60%) is China , says Veronika Nikishina, HEAD of the Russian Export Center JSC.

The head of the National Meat Association, Sergei Yushin, notes that high export growth rates are primarily due to the low base effect, but Russian beef is really in demand and is competitive in price, primarily in China.

According to him, after outbreaks of African swine fever (ASF) in the PRC in 2019-2020, pork prices in the country rose and preferences began to change towards beef.

Commercial DIRECTOR of Zarechnoye Group of Companies (Primebeef brand) Konstantin Polevoy says that now beef importers are looking for new suppliers. China, for example, has suspended purchases of Australian beef: if in 2020 Zarechnoye Group sent only test batches to the country, now it has switched to regular shipments. Artem Kudimov, commercial director of APF Nasha Zhytnitsa (Steykovka brand), emphasizes that beef exports make it possible to receive stable foreign exchange earnings. In RUSSIA, beef consumption in 2020 decreased to 1.94 million tons, which is at least a decade. In the ABH Miratorg, Viktor and Alexander Linnikov did not answer.

The growth rate of beef exports significantly exceeds the figures for other types of meat.

According to the NSS, pork exports in the first half of the year may increase by 16%, to 102.3 thousand tons, while supplies of poultry and lamb, on the contrary, will decrease by 20% and 93%, to 116.6 thousand and 400 tons, respectively. The head of the NSS, Yuri Kovalev, notes that in 2020, pork exports grew by 96% due to the opening of Vietnam, and it is difficult to further increase supplies. The Russian Federation, along with Brazil, already occupies 25% of Vietnamese pork imports, and China will not open quickly for Russian producers, even a single outbreak of ASF gives China a reason to close supplies from the whole country, he explains.

According to Albert Davleev, President of Agrifood Strategies, China and Vietnam, the driver markets for poultry export growth, are now saturated. For the CIS, Russian poultry is uncompetitive in terms of price, given the increase in cost in the first half of the year due to production cuts and higher costs, he says. According to the expert, the opening of new markets for poultry meat, primarily Africa, could support exports.

According to Sergey Yushin, in a number of countries there has been a tendency to reduce the number of cattle, primarily under pressure from environmental activists and politicians, but the demand for beef is growing. Within 30 years, the consumption of this meat may increase by 30%, and Russian producers are able to fill this niche, he believes. But, Sergei Yushin emphasizes, for this it is necessary to continue to stimulate investment in the industry. The Ministry of Agriculture notes that they are focused on meeting domestic needs, although the growth in meat production allows increasing exports. They add that Russian manufacturers are compensated for part of the costs of certifying products for deliveries abroad. According to the forecasts of the Ministry of Agriculture, by the end of 2021, the export of all meat will exceed $100 million, primarily due to an increase in supplies to China, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan,