Poultry farmers predicted a fall in chicken prices in the spring

Poultry meat prices in Russia may decrease in April-May, said Sergei Lakhtyukhov, executive director of the National Union of Poultry Breeders.

- We are counting on the factors that we see now that by April, or rather already in April-May, production volumes will stabilize - and not just stabilize, but begin to grow. Accordingly, the market will begin to saturate and, as a result, we may see a decrease in prices,” Lakhtyukhov said on the air of the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

According to Rosstat, in January 2021, poultry meat production in the country decreased by 6.4% compared to 2020 and amounted to 478.1 thousand tons. Egg production decreased to 3.5 billion pieces - by 2.5%. At

In the meat market in Russia, chicken meat is the leader in terms of consumer prices. In the period from February 25 to March 1, it increased in price by 1.8%, and from the beginning of 2021 - by 8.1%. Chicken eggs are also among the leaders in price growth, having risen in price by 1% during the week, and by 3.3% since the beginning of the year.

Lakhtyukhov noted that the import of hatching eggs for 2021 exceeded the figure for the same period last year by 8%. The expert called the increase in import duties on hatching eggs a measure to normalize the situation on the market. The share of imports in this poultry sector does not exceed 20%.

Freezing prices Lakhtyukhov called a regulatory measure on the part of the state.

- As some say, that it is the state that should establish a moratorium on prices, fix prices for products, then this, of course, is harmful. Now the companies, on their own initiative, have declared that they are ready to fix prices, not to raise them for such a socially significant product as a broiler carcass, - said the head of the union of poultry farmers.

Recall that producers have already promised to contain the rise in prices for poultry meat and eggs. The increase in prices for products in the Ministry of Agriculture was explained by an increase in the cost of feed, as well as a decrease in the supply of foreign hatching eggs due to the aggravation of the situation with the incidence of animals in the European Union. Earlier, the Federal Antimonopoly Service announced the start of inspections of chicken and egg producers due to a sharp increase in product prices.

The agency also noticed the presence of a certain "imbalance of supply and demand" in the domestic poultry industry, commenting on the aggravation of the price situation with chicken and eggs.