World meat industry news

McDonald’s fast food chain is launching a long-term program to support Russian farmers, the company said in a statement on Friday, TASS informed.

“McDonald’s is launching a long-term program to support Russian farmers. Under the program, five Russian farms cooperating with the Belaya Dacha Group will receive targeted grants for passing international certification and will be able to become McDonald’s suppliers,” according to the statement. Irina Korshunova, Senior Director for Sustainable Development of the company in Russia, said during the online conference that at the first stage, investments in the program will amount to about 5 mln rubles ($68,000).

According to the company, more than 20 farms from 16 Russian regions, cooperating with the Belaya Dacha Group took part in the first stage of the targeted grants program. Five farms from Astrakhan to Novosibirsk were selected to participate in the program.

Currently McDonald’s receives products from 160 Russian suppliers. In turn, for the supply of products to McDonald’s, they use raw materials from more than 400 farms operating in such agricultural sectors as raising cattle, growing lettuce, cucumbers, potatoes, and dairy farms. McDonald’s in Russia has more than 780 enterprises in 60 regions. About 99% of the products for the restaurant chain are produced in Russia – 160 local suppliers are engaged in deliveries. About 1.8 million people visit the fast food chain restaurants every day (for 30 years, more than 6 bln guests have visited them).

Belaya Dacha specializes in the cultivation of salad crops and, in particular, the production of so-called washed salads. The company’s facilities are located in the Moscow region, the Republic of Tatarstan and the Novosibirsk region. Lettuce crops are grown on 700 hectares of fields and greenhouses, and also with the contractual cooperation with Belaya Dacha, more than 30 farmers from different Russian regions.