World meat industry news

One of Russia’s biggest pork producers, Miratorg, will complete the construction of its slaughterhouse project in Kursk region, Russia, in 2021. That is what Roman Starovoyt, governor of the region, told the Russian Business Consulting agency.

The new slaughterhouse will process 4.5 million head of pigs per year, Starovoyt said, adding that the investment costs are 96 billion roubles (US$ 1.3 billion). Russian officials said that the new complex should become the European biggest slaughterhouse. The costs exceed an earlier projection by Miratorg, when the construction costs were estimated to be 68 billion roubles (US$ 900 million).

Meat processing was already launched

The slaughter and processing facility is located near the town Chernytsyno, Oktyabrsky district, Kursk region. The 1st stage of the project, involving meat processing, has already been launched in 2020. This year, Miratorg is set to complete the pig slaughter and deboning complex, making the entire facility fully operational.

The project is a component of the Miratorg strategy to double its pig breeding division capacity to 7.7 million head per year. In addition to the meat packing plant, a grain company will be established allowing the production of compound feed, and new pig breeding complexes will be built in Kursk region as well.

The complex will produce 503,000 tonnes of meat (carcass weight) per year for both corporate clients and retail. Modern technologies are said to help the company control costs and guarantee an environmental footprint that is as low as possible.

 ASF strikes in Kursk region

In late December of 2020, Miratorg reported an African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak at a finishing farm in Phatezskiy district of Kursk region. The company did not provide any further information, so it is unclear what the number of pigs to be culled was and whether the outbreak could impact its supply chain.

It is the 5th ASF outbreak in Kursk region in 2 months, which sets the region on high alert regarding the disease. In mid-November, an ASF outbreak hit Reut farm in Kursk region, forcing the company to cull 20,000 head of pigs. That was one of the biggest ASF outbreaks in Russia in 2020.

The disease has likely begun spreading in the region since that outbreak, Russian magazine Agroinvestor reported, citing its sources in the pig industry. In the case of Miratorg, no serious consequences are expected from the outbreak, although the very situation is inconvenient, as it could slow down the holding’s development plans and interfere with the trade relationships.