World meat industry news

Beef consumption in Russia is at the lowest level recorded in the past 10 years, according to data released by the Center for Industry Expertise of the Russian Agricultural Bank.

In 2020, the demand for beef in the domestic dropped to 1.94 million tonnes but sources from the industry expressed their confidence that the consumption will rebound by the end of 2021. Nevertheless, a reduction in dairy cow herd has set the stage for increased demand in the domestic market for premium cuts and high-quality beef such as Black Angus. "A decrease in consumption occurs in the segment of dairy breeds, which accounts for up to 80% of the market, and consumption of beef of meat breeds has grown 5 times over seven years, up to 300,000 tons, premium cuts - 12 times, up to 30,000 tons," said Sergei Yushin, the head of the Russian National Meat Association.
Sergey Yushin pointed out that the premium segment of the market is still not saturated, so consumption will grow with the development of production and logistics, retail trade, delivery to remote regions and the restaurant business.
According to the head of the Center for Industry Expertise of the Russian Agricultural Bank, Andrey Dalnov, for the next 10 years, the consumption of beef in the Russian market may add 100,000 tonnes in production.
Meantime, despite the drop of 3.4% in consumption reported last year, beef exports have increased by 103% to 20,000 tonnes, supported mainly by the demand in China, a recipient of 45% of Russian beef exports.