World meat industry news

Analytical agency InfoLine analyzed the results of import substitution of consumer goods in Russia from 2010 to 2021. Forbes got acquainted with the results of the study. During this time, the food sector has managed to achieve considerable success, in particular, the share of imports of pork, poultry and vegetables has significantly decreased.

According to analysts, the share of imports in the total volume of retail food commodity resources has decreased by 10% over the past ten years. If in 2010 the ratio was 66% to 34% in favor of domestic products, then in 2021 it is already 76% to 24%. Most of the imported food and beverages in 2021 came from the countries of the European Union (44%) and the EAEU (28%).

At the same time, pork was completely replaced on the Russian market: the share of imports in this segment decreased from 47% to zero. Good indicators for poultry: the share of imports decreased from 18% to 5%, for vegetables - from 50% to 15%. The share of foreign cheeses fell until 2015, and in the past six years, despite the “anti-sanctions”, it has only grown. At the same time, the categories of fruits, alcohol, confectionery and chocolate, and cheeses turned out to be the most dependent on imports.

The head of the InfoLine agency, Ivan Fedyakov, quoted by Forbes, noted that the situation in the product segment is better than in other industries. According to him, more than 6 trillion rubles were invested in this category from 2014 to 2021. and implemented about 2 thousand large investment projects. The expert named agricultural holdings EkoNiva, Efko, Rusagro and Miratorg as the largest investors in this sector.

Vice-President of the Russian Grain Union Alexander Korbut told Agroinvestor that if we talk about raw materials, then import substitution is best in crop production, in particular, in grain production. The production of oilseeds is also doing well, although "the share of imported seeds there is quite high." “There are no problems with flour. Although a significant proportion of imported equipment is used there. In general, Russia has large production volumes of almost all types of products, although there are some difficulties with vegetables and fruits,” he commented.

Korbut noted that import substitution can be reliable only if the segment is completely independent of supplies from abroad. Here we are talking about genetics, seeds, equipment and other components of production. “Only in this case, you won’t have to suffer that a certain product was not delivered to us somewhere,” he added.

Korbut also noted that a third of the equipment for the agro-industrial complex in Russia is imported. “Production volumes are insufficient. For heavy tractors, the replacement is going well. Small tractors are supplied from Belarus. But it must be taken into account that imported components are used in the production of agricultural machinery in Russia,” he concluded.