World meat industry news

Meat production increased significantly again in 2020. In pork, the boom of recent years continues.

Russian meat production increased again in the past calendar year. According to the Moscow-based Ministry of Agriculture, the total volume produced was 15.6 mill. t of live weight (LW), up 2% from 2019. Looking at individual meat types, however, there were significant differences, with beef production growing by only 0.2% to 2.8 mill. t and poultry meat by 0.4% to 6.7 mill. t. In contrast, pork production continued the strong momentum of previous years, increasing by 9.1% to 5.5 mill. t compared to 2019.

According to Russia's first deputy agriculture minister, Dzhambulat Khatuov, pork production is expected to increase to 6.0 million t by 2025. This had already increased by 1.2 mill. t over the past five years. The share of "industrial production" has now risen to 90%. Imports hardly play a role anymore; instead, pork exports are increasing, Khatuov emphasized. According to him, the primary task of Russian pig breeding now is to increase competitiveness, create a modern breeding base and logistics, and further increase export potential.