Pork exports could reach $1 billion this year

This year, the EXPORT of pig products is in line with the forecasts that the National Union of Pig Breeders gave at the end of 2024, the association's general DIRECTOR Yuri Kovalev told Agroinvestor. He hopes that by the end of 2025, shipments of this category to international markets will increase by approximately 25-30% compared to last year's level and exceed 400 thousand tons in physical terms, and in value terms will approach $1 billion.

According to the results of the first seven months of this year, the main buyer of Russian pork was Belarus , which increased purchases by 40% compared to the same period in 2024. In second place is Vietnam: according to the results of seven months, Russian pork exports there increased by 30-35%. " CHINA is confidently moving into third place . If last year we sold about 40 thousand tons of pork products, then this year, according to our preliminary forecasts, shipments will double and amount to about 80 thousand tons," Kovalev noted.

At the same time, according to analysts from the federal center "Agroexport", our country has a high chance of replacing the US share in pork supplies to China, given the ongoing tariff restrictions in relations between the two countries. In July, RUSSIA exported $12.4 million worth of pork products to China, which is 29.1% more than in July last year, Interfax reported, citing the General Administration of Customs of the People's Republic of China. Compared to June, supplies increased by 20.4%. At the same time, in July, Russia became the fourth supplier of pork to China, moving up from fifth place in June. Over the first seven months of this year, pork exports to China amounted to $48.1 million.

In the first half of the year, the United States showed a decrease in MEAT group exports by 54 thousand tons compared to the same period last year. Moreover, the lag in supply volumes began in April with the introduction of tariff restrictions in relation to a number of countries, noted analysts from Agroexport. In particular, pork exports from the United States for January-June decreased by 38 thousand tons. In China, the main sales market, the duty on American pork reached a peak of 172% in the first half of May. Even taking into account the 90-day relaxation from May 12, the tariff was still high (57%). According to the State Customs Administration of the People's Republic of China, American pork imports for April-June decreased by 19 thousand tons compared to the same period last year. At the same time, pork imports from  the EU and Russia increased during this period, analysts noted.