World meat industry news

The Russian market of semi-finished meat products is showing stable growth. According to BusinesStat research, for the period 2019-2023. production of semi-finished products in the country increased by 27%, reaching 4.65 million tons. In 2023, production output increased by 5.8% compared to 2022.

A significant contribution to production growth was made by enterprises of the Central Federal District (CFD), where production volumes increased by 155.7 thousand tons.

One of the key events in the industry was the opening of a large meat processing complex of the Agroeco Group of Companies in the Voronezh region. The complex has a capacity of more than 300 thousand tons of products per year and produces a wide range of packaged semi-finished products, including dumplings, goulash, minced meat, sausages, steaks, kebabs and more.

Another trend in the market is industry consolidation. The share of the largest companies is growing both due to the construction of new capacities and increased production volumes, and through the acquisition of competitors' assets. Thus, the Cherkizovo Group acquired a plant for the production of semi-finished poultry meat products in the Tula region from Cargill, and in 2022, Krasnobor, a large producer of turkey meat, entered the company’s structure.

Russian meat processing enterprises are capable of not only fully satisfying the domestic market, but also increasing exports. In order to diversify and expand the geography of supplies, Russian manufacturers are actively exploring new markets. Thus, in 2023, trial batches of Russian meat products were delivered to countries such as the Seychelles, Taiwan, Panama, Mexico, France, Algeria, Myanmar, Portugal, Cyprus, Angola, and Albania.

Promising markets for Russian meat products are the Gulf countries (primarily the UAE and Saudi Arabia) and China.

In addition to increasing production and developing new markets, the following trends are observed in the meat industry:

The growing popularity of ready-to-eat meals. Consumers are increasingly choosing convenience foods that are quick and easy to prepare.

Increased demand for semi-finished turkey meat products. Turkey is a more dietary meat than traditional types of meat, so the demand for its semi-finished products is growing.

Use of modern technologies. Manufacturers are introducing new technologies to improve the quality and safety of products. Such technologies include, for example, vacuum packaging, the use of instrumentation and automation of production processes.

In general, the market for semi-finished meat products in Russia has positive development prospects. It is expected that production and demand for these products will continue to grow in the coming years.