Continued Expansion in Russian Meat, Dairy Output

RUSSIA - A new report on the future of agribusiness suggests the country's target of self-sufficiency in poultry meat and pork by 2011 will not be reached, however.

10 December 2009

2 minute read

Europe

According to the Russia Agribusiness Report Q1 2010 from Companies and Markets, meat consumption in Russia remains low by developed world standards. In 2008, according to data from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), per-capita consumption of beef and chicken stood at 16.6 kg and 19.8 kg, respectively – less than half of that of the US. This leaves plenty of room for growth and, in common with many other emerging markets, we expect meat consumption in Russia to increase significantly over our forecast period to 2014.

The Russian government has stated its aim to become self-sufficient in pork and poultry by 2011. The goal is over-ambitious in BMI's view, but the authors see poultry production continuing to grow strongly to the end of the forecast period in 2014, building on the 170 per cent expansion seen between 2003 and 2007.

Anti-import measures, state and regional government subsidies, as well as demand for cheaper animal protein have all boosted poultry production. Between 2009 and 2014, the report forecasts production to rise by 83 per cent from 1.81 million tonnes to 3.31 million tonnes.

Milk production is forecast by the report to rise by 10 per cent from 2009 to reach 36.1 million tonnes in 2014. While still a far cry from the levels of the first couple of years of the 1990s, this modest growth forecast does at least inspire hope that the industry is starting on the long road to recovery. In October 2009, the Russian government added fluid milk, butter and three types of cheeses to a list of intervention commodities. While no interventions have yet taken place on these commodities, the possibility adds a new dynamic to the dairy industry.