Export potential is a driver of growth in the production of feed components

According to Vladimir Manaenkov, executive director of the Combined Feeders Union, the production of vitamins in Russia in the required volume will not be established in the foreseeable future. “Do you know how much money you need to invest in such production? A normal businessman simply would not think of it: you need to invest an unlimited amount of funds and still try to compete with the Chinese and Europeans. These are all very powerful capital investments. I think that in the near future it is unrealistic for us in terms of vitamins, ”he admitted. 

At the same time, it is possible to saturate the market for amino acids within five years. It is also real for enzymes, says Manaenkov. According to him, the key task for the production of feed additives in Russia is the development of domestic biotechnologies and, in particular, the creation of producer strains. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, active work in this area is already underway, and in the short term, domestic needs for lysine will already be covered. 

So far, Russia is heavily dependent on the supply of vitamins and amino acids. Thus, the market capacity of feed amino acids is about 140 thousand tons of imported and 150 thousand tons of domestic products. According to Manaenkov, the volume of imports last year increased by 16%, including from China  - by 48%, from Europe - decreased by 67%. At the same time, as Savkina notes, in the past two months, feed vitamins from  the EU have gradually begun to appear on the Russian market. In her opinion, while developing its own production, it is also necessary to expand the geography of imports so that China is not the only country that supplies Russia. 

The NWO and sanctions against Russia led to a sharp increase in prices for imported feed additives at the beginning of last year, Savkina continues. “China helped out, and importers of feed additives quickly got their bearings, although at that time the prices were crazy - two or three times higher, but in the third or fourth quarters the prices fell. According to the results of the first quarter of this year, the decrease compared to the first quarter of last year was more than 50%. The situation is similar in China and Europe,” Savkina noted.

According to the General Director of the National Union of Pig Breeders (NSS) Yuri Kovalev, this growth was only recouped thanks to a decrease in grain prices. “Therefore, grain export duties are not only harmful <...>. The fundamental factor for us is the price of grain. If prices for finished pig products continue to decline, and for grain they turn up, this is the biggest danger, ”Kovalev believes. In his opinion, the current prices for crop products are at their lowest levels, and businesses need to be prepared for the fact that they can start to grow. “It is not worth hoping that prices for vitamins and amino acids will continue to decline,” he added.