Poultry meat exports doubled, beef supplies also increased by 40%.

In 2022, Russia continues to actively develop the export of agricultural products: it grew by 17% compared to the same period last year. In particular, export supplies of poultry meat, which have doubled, and beef - by 40%, demonstrate good dynamics. This was announced by the Ministry of Agriculture following a working meeting of representatives of the agricultural department abroad with the heads of industry unions and the largest companies producing and exporting meat. During the meeting, special attention was paid to the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers, strengthening relations with importers, distributors, and retailers. 

The growth in poultry meat exports is associated, firstly, with more active world trade this year, said Sergey Yushin, head of the National Meat Association (NMA). According to him, poultry is still more affordable than other types of meat, and many prefer it because of its attractive price. Secondly, the increase in exports is due to the unfavorable situation with avian influenza in a number of countries, including the United States , which is the largest supplier of poultry meat, and now dozens of markets for their products are closed. Third, COVID-19no longer has such a negative impact on consumption: public catering outlets, including fast food, where poultry meat is popular, are entering the pre-pandemic mode of operation. “There are also very high prices for products that we traditionally supply to China,” Yushin adds. However, the excessive strengthening of the ruble has already had a negative impact on export forecasts: competitiveness is falling, and whether it will be possible to maintain such high growth rates until the end of the year is a question. 

According to the National Rating Agency (NRA), since January, chicken meat in Russia has risen in price much less than beef and lamb - within 2%, but at the end of the year, consumer prices may increase by 5% due to rising production costs and incomplete replacement of imported hatching eggs. According to the results of four months, the volume of chicken meat production in Russia increased by 8% year-on-year to 2.2 million tons, but in the second half of 2022, compared to the first, the NRA allows its reduction due to general economic uncertainty and a slowdown in investment. Thus, the production of chicken meat, according to the NRA, may increase by 2-3% in live weight, maintaining such growth rates in the next two to three years.

Yushin connects the increase in beef supplies, first of all, with the effect of a low base and the active position of the main exporter. Also, according to him, even minor fluctuations in the Chinese market, the  main buyer of Russian poultry and beef, have a significant impact on the dynamics of exports from a particular country. “And the demand for beef in China is active, world prices for it have been rising for a long time. Also, exports of not only frozen, but also chilled beef and offal are now increasing, but these are already other markets - the countries of the Middle East, ”commented Yushin.

In the first half of the year, Russian producers exported 81.6 thousand tons of pork - by 24.1 thousand tons, or 23% less than in the same period last year. Yury Kovalev, General Director of the Union, spoke about this during the annual meeting of the National Union of Pig Breeders (NSS). The decrease in the pace of supplies is due to the almost complete restoration of production in China, a decrease in prices in Vietnam, where China and other countries that have lost the Chinese market supply this type of meat, Yushin says. Thus, due to the reduction of imports to China, suppliers from the United States and Europe reoriented to Vietnam, which led to increased competition. As a result, it is now more difficult for Russia to supply its products to this country, especially considering that Russian pork has become much more expensive in dollars due to the exchange rate of the national currency. But things can change

The main priority is still the opening of the Chinese market for Russian pork, Kovalev said during the NSS meeting. “The further progressive development of Russian pig breeding now depends on this, given the main challenge associated with the risk of oversaturation of our domestic market, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, huge prospects for the industry, given geographic, geopolitical and other factors,” he said. According to Kovalev, Russia is one of the top 5 pork producers in the world, and at the same time the only one of the leaders does not have access to the Chinese market. Last year, China purchased 3.5 million tons of pig products, Russia could supply up to 250-300 thousand tons to the country: about 10% of Chinese imports over the next three years.