World meat industry news

Cherkizovo Group, Russia’s largest meat producer, has announced the start of turkey shipments to China, its key export market. This move will see the Group more than double its overall turkey exports for 2020.

The first turkey shipment weighed in at 27 tonnes and was sent to China from Tambov Turkey, a joint venture between Cherkizovo Group and Spain’s Grupo Fuertes. The shipment included turkey wing pieces that are very popular in retail chains throughout China. Exporting this type of goods is now possible after Russia's Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor) convinced the Chinese authorities to add turkey by-products (wings fall within this category in China) to the list of permitted imports from Russia. Tambov Turkey is planned to expand these shipments in the future to include feedstock for China's meat processing plants.

In a move expected to more than double its overall turkey exports, Cherkizovo is going to ship about 2 thousand tonnes of turkey to China by the end of 2020. Last year, the Group exported around 1.5 thousand tonnes globally.

China is Cherkizovo's key export market. Poultry exports to the Asian country started in May 2019. By the end of the year, 14 thousand tonnes had been shipped to China, accounting for more than 40% of that year's total poultry exports. This year, Cherkizovo plans to push this amount to over 50 thousand tonnes.

“Despite the impact the coronavirus is having on global food trade, Cherkizovo's poultry exports to China have been on the rise in the recent months, with regular monthly volumes reaching some 5 thousand tonnes or more. CHERKIZOVO 77, a brand we use for products made at various facilities across the Group, has gained both trust and traction among our Chinese customers, including distributors and meat processors,” commented Andrei Terekhin, Head of Exports at Trading Company Cherkizovo.

The Group has also been on the lookout for new shipping opportunities to reach this market. Currently, Cherkizovo uses rail transport to ensure faster and cheaper delivery compared to the traditional marine routes from the ports of St. Petersburg and Novorossiysk. In the presence of Cherkizovo's Chinese partners, the first refrigerated container with poultry was sent from the Bekasovo railway station in the Moscow Region to Chongqing. It is expected to arrive at its final destination via the Chinese–Kazakh land border. The Group is considering other railway routes into the country as well.