World meat industry news

Igor Babaev, the founder of Cherkizovo Group, expects China to open the market for Russian pork and doesn't want to lose the momentum. Therefore, the Group announced that it will build 40 new farms in the Penza region to be prepared for exports to Asia.

"We view Asia as our key export destination. We expect the Chinese market to open in the near future, creating lots of opportunities, of which we should be ready to take advantage. Russia has about 40 million pigs, an insignificant number compared with China’s stock of 600 million animals. Still, we have great potential for boosting pork production and exports, benefiting from lower biological risks in Russia and the high quality and very competitive cost of our product", said Igor Babaev.
Penza has become a region of strategic importance for Cherkizovo as it turned out in its home for major pig farming projects. "Today, the Group manufactures over 30,000 tonnes of pork per year, accounting for 90% of the region’s total pork output. Our goal is to bring pork production in the Penza Region to 300,000 tonnes in the next five to seven years. To meet this ambitious target, we are considering building an additional 40 farms of this type in the region", explained Mr. Babaev.
Cherkizovo just unveiled the region’s fifth pig farm of a new type featuring combined wean-to-finish facilities with an annual output of 5,100 tonnes of live-weight pork. With an estimated RUB 580 million ($9 million) invested, each farm is designed to house over 20,000 pigs at a time, or up to some 50,000 market hogs per year. For this year, Cherkizovo expects an increase of 10,000 tones in pork production.