In the Volgograd region, local eggs disappeared from the shelves

As of February 17, 2022, there are practically no products of local poultry farms in the retail chains of Volgograd. Eggs from Volgograd producers have either completely disappeared from the shelves, or make up a meager 5-6% of the assortment.

According to NovostiVolgograd.ru, this is not the first time that residents of the region have complained about the lack of local eggs on sale. Today, February 17, we conducted an experiment and found that in one of the popular retail chains, eggs from local poultry farms are not for sale. They are represented in another trading network, but to a much lesser extent than the products of poultry farms from other regions. Volgograd residents have to buy imported eggs, which are more expensive due to the mark-ups of intermediary companies.

And this is despite the fact that in 2021 the production of chicken eggs in the Volgograd region increased by almost 2 million pieces. Now, for each inhabitant of the region, there are approximately 331 eggs per year - not the most solid indicator. The regional agricultural committee claims that in 2021, egg production in the Volgograd region increased by 16.5% compared to 2014 and amounted to 822.6 million eggs. There is no shortage of eggs, but why then did the products of Volgograd poultry farms disappear from the shelves?

Back in January, at a field meeting with the participation of the Governor of the Volgograd Region, Andrei Bocharov, curious figures were announced. The Volzhskaya poultry farm and the Vostok agricultural firm produced almost 412 million eggs in 2021, but only about 30% of this volume was sold within the region. The fact is that intermediary companies buy eggs from producers in one region and resell them in another, inflating the margin. This leads to price spikes that cause OFAS concern. Now the cost of a dozen eggs of the first grade in some retail chains exceeds 100 rubles. Almost all products are imported.

According to the Regional Committee for Agriculture, there are four poultry egg farms in the Volgograd region: Agrofirm Vostok JSC, Volzhskaya Poultry Farm JSC, Gorodischenskaya Poultry Farm LLC and Uryupinskaya Poultry Farm JSC. The leaders in egg production are the Volzhskaya poultry farm (more than 223.5 million eggs in 2021) and the Vostok agricultural company (190.7 million eggs in 2021). The owners of both organizations are the same - the family of the "egg tycoon" Vladimir Struk. Mr. Struk, ex-deputy of the regional Duma and adviser to the governor on agrarian issues, ranks 67th in the ranking of the hundred richest businessmen in the Volgograd region. In 2020, the Volzhskaya Poultry Farm JSC managed by him earned 135 million rubles in net profit, and the Vostok agricultural firm controlled by his relatives earned 222.5 million rubles. In the Regional Duma, the interests of the family are lobbied by the son of Vladimir Struk Mikhail, leader of the United RUSSIA faction. Two other poultry farms, Gorodishchenskaya and Uryupinskaya, show poor financial results and cannot compete with the Strukov agricultural holding.

The enterprises of Vladimir Struk's family enjoy generous state support. Due to budget subsidies, they carried out reconstruction and created a closed egg production cycle. According to experts, it is the “egg tycoon” who should address the question of why Volgograd eggs disappeared from the shelves of retail chains. “Let's call a spade a spade: the Volgograd region gives Struk a lot of preferences,” says Andrey Proshakov, a well-known Volgograd farmer. “The task that we set for ourselves in these industries is to reach 500 million pieces of high-quality marketable eggs per year,” Governor Andrei Bocharov noted during the offsite meeting.

There are more and more claims against the agricultural holding, both from supervisory authorities (Rostekhnadzor recently revealed 29 serious violations at the Volzhskaya poultry farm), and from ordinary Volgograd residents. If the agricultural enterprises of the Strukov family receive budget financing, why don't they sell their products within the region? Why did local eggs practically disappear from the shelves, and imported ones took their place? The answers to these questions can be very uncomfortable for large businesses.

Experts see a way out of the situation in stimulating poultry farming in private backyards, but there are doubts that farmers will be able to seriously compete with the “egg monopoly”. Therefore, apparently, Volgograd residents will have to put up with the lack of local eggs on supermarket shelves.