World meat industry news

After the jump in prices for poultry and pork at the beginning of the barbecue season, the cost of traditional barbecue products went down again. Experts interviewed by Rossiyskaya Gazeta believe that high demand for meat will remain at least until September. But against the backdrop of growing production, price growth will be very restrained.

Demand for the traditional "barbecue set" (meat, vegetables, coal, kindling, disposable tableware, sauces and seasonings) traditionally began to grow this year with the establishment of warm weather and as the long May weekend approaches, says the chairman of the Presidium of the Association of Retail Companies (AKORT ) Igor Karavaev. This year, against the backdrop of warm weather in many Russian regions, the barbecue season began a couple of weeks earlier than usual. Holidays were added to this: first Easter, and then the end of Ramadan among Muslims, says Sergey Lakhtyukhov, general director of the National Union of Poultry Breeders. For this reason, the demand for the most suitable meat for barbecue has increased dramatically, experts admit.

Prices were pulled up by demand - for example, they reached record levels for pork neck, says Sergey Yushin, head of the executive committee of the National Meat Association. But now, when consumers have satisfied their first barbecue hunger, the dynamics of at least wholesale prices has calmed down. And until September, with consistently high demand, this trend will continue. If the current situation persists, meat prices will generally rise below inflation, the expert believes.

Now the prices for most cuts (for example, for a shoulder blade or a ham) are at the level of five years ago, Yushin notes. For example, a ham costs less than 300 rubles per kg, while cucumber-tomatoes cost almost the same, the expert points out. According to Rosstat, barbecue made from the most affordable meat - pork and chicken - even fell in price by 4% and 2%, respectively, over the year. True, beef and mutton kebabs went up in price by 6.3% and 5.6%, respectively. The Check Index platform calculated that the average bill for the cost of a "barbecue set" (meat for barbecue, barbecue, charcoal, skewers, ignition) in April amounted to 2,090 rubles. This is only 7% higher than a year ago. Karavaev claims that the cost of the minimum "barbecue set" in individual AKORT member chains has decreased by 15-20% year-on-year. In addition, many retail chains have expanded their offer for outdoor recreation in the lines of their own brands (PL). The cost of such products, including marinated shish kebab meat, as a rule, is more than a third lower than that of well-known brands.

In many ways, such affordable prices are due to the growth in the production of pork and poultry meat. So, pork production in 2022 increased by 7%. This allowed retail prices not to rise, and taking into account discounts and sales, prices were lower, says Yury Kovalev, Director General of the National Union of Pig Breeders. In the first quarter of this year, production increased by another 7.1%. At the same time, the expert estimates the level of self-sufficiency in pork at 108%. Poultry meat production increased last year by 5%, in the first quarter of this year - another 2%. At the same time, the production and popularity of turkey meat is also growing, Lakhtyukhov notes.