Export orientation will increase beef production in Russia

The payback period for projects in beef cattle breeding reaches 12 years

The production of beef from MEAT breeds of cattle in RUSSIA is just emerging, a tenfold increase from the current plus 1.5-3% per year is needed, said Roman Kostyuk, General DIRECTOR of the National Union of Beef Producers, during the Russian Meat & Feed Industry conference. At the same time, he drew attention to the need to change the approach to beef production.

According to him, it is necessary, first of all, to stop treating beef as a resource for ensuring national food security: most of the industry's products should be exported, and only meat that meets our preferences in terms of culinary properties should be left in Russia.

Looking at beef cattle breeding as an attempt to feed the country will lead to the fact that it will not develop, Kostyuk said. “In 50 years we will crawl to a normal level of production. Now we are roughly comparable in volume to Australia, but this remote country earns $ 9 billion a year from cattle meat, and we make an unfortunate $ 30 million, ”he added.

According to Kostyuk, the payback period for projects in beef cattle breeding is 8-12 years. “Which of the private investors will agree to this (investing in beef production - AI) with such terms and our risks? We need to use world experience: 80% of the number of beef cows should be in the hands of small farmers,” he says. Beef cattle breeding should become a "social lift", make it possible to purchase cattle and make money on it. So, according to Kostyuk, one family with 160 cows can receive up to 8 million rubles a year. revenue, of which 1.5-2 million rubles. can allocate for their lives, as farmers live from the turnover, and do not count the profit.

In fact, the main unresolved problem of the industry not only in Russia, but throughout the entire continent is the uncontrollability and illogicality of the livestock trade market, Kostyuk noted. “Here, even an investor who invests in good genetic material calls thousands of people with the question: “Do you need my cows?”. Also, there are no criteria for good / bad, there is only one criterion - “a good cow, I say for sure.”

Therefore, the desire to buy cheaper is growing, which leads to degradation in the industry,” Kostyuk emphasized, noting that approaches to work need to be changed. “The beef cattle market on the continent will be in endless deficit in the next 20 years, and investments are extremely difficult, all the models we use today in the industry do not work well, there is no chance for growth, the fall is guaranteed, it is necessary to change all economic approaches,” Kostyuk concluded.