World meat industry news

In 2021, Russian exports of agricultural products amounted to USD 37.1 billion, which is 21% more than in 2020. Thus, agricultural exports have updated the record reached in 2020. During the year, Russia supplied more than 71 million tons of food and agricultural raw materials to foreign markets.

Growth was demonstrated by all major groups of food products. The value of exports of grain industry products increased by 12%, oil and fat industry - by 48%, fish and seafood - by 25%, meat products - by 32%, dairy - by 30%, food and processing industry products - by 15%, other products - by 12%.

Last year, more than 160 countries became importers of agricultural products from Russia. Turkey took the first place among the countries - the largest buyers, increasing purchases by 38% to $4.3 billion. China dropped to second position, reducing imports of Russian agricultural products by 12% to $3.6 billion. Also in the top 5 buyers were Kazakhstan ($2.8 billion, +33%), Republic of Korea ($2.5 billion, +41%) and Belarus ($1.8 billion, +28%).

Corn

In 2021, Russian grain exports decreased by 12% to 43 million tons in physical terms, but increased by 12% to $11 billion in value terms. Including shipments of wheat increased by 8.4% to $8.9 billion, barley - by 16% to $1.3 billion, corn - by 45% to $1 billion. In addition, exports increased by 51%. buckwheat, 3.3 times - oats and 11.8 times - rye.

Grain retained the leading position of Russian agricultural exports, which accounted for 31% of total shipments last year.

According to the Federal Customs Service, the positions of the leading importers of Russian grain were maintained by Turkey and Egypt. In January-December, more than 9 million tons of grain (+0.5%) worth $2.4 billion (+26%) were delivered to Turkey. Wheat accounted for about 75% of the sales value, barley - 13%, corn - 11%. Egypt purchased 5.7 million tons of grain (-31%) for $1.6 billion (-13%), almost all of this volume is wheat. Also in the top 3 buyers, as a year earlier, is Saudi Arabia with a volume of 1.7 million tons (-43%) for $452 million (-20%).

Oil and fat products

Exports of oil and fat products amounted to 7.7 million tons worth $7.3 billion. The volume decreased by 5.2%, while export revenue increased by 48% due to a significant increase in world prices for oilseed products.

Including 3.1 million tons of sunflower oil (-15% by 2020) were shipped to foreign markets for $4 billion (+42%), almost 2.8 million tons of vegetable meal and cake (+2.4%) for 1.1 billion dollars (+60%), 814 thousand tons of rapeseed oil (+18%) for 1 billion dollars (+71%), 528 thousand tons of soybean oil (-21%) for 607 million dollars. (+25%), 297 thousand tons of margarine (+27%) for $415 million (+81%).

“The reasons for the decline in the physical volume of sunflower oil exports were the low sunflower harvest in 2020 and the speculative restraint of sales of oilseed raw materials by agricultural producers of the new crop at the beginning of the 2021/2022 season,” Executive Director of the Oil and Fat Union of Russia Mikhail Maltsev told Agroexport. Nevertheless, according to him, thanks to the consistent and effective policy of the Russian Ministry of Agriculture, the cultivation of oilseeds is being stimulated, and a significant increase in export duties on raw materials contributes to the development of processing within the country and an increase in the supply of ready-made products for export.

Turkey became the leader among buyers of oil and fat products from Russia in 2021, increasing the volume of imports by 2.3 times to $1.3 billion. (1.1 billion dollars), vegetable meal and cake (168 million dollars).

China dropped to 2nd place with a share of 13%. For 12 months, 791 thousand tons of oil and fat products (-44%) worth $944 million (-13%) were shipped to China. In the sales structure in China, the share of rapeseed oil increased from 23% to 43%, while sunflower oil decreased from 52% to 38%, and soybean oil from 23% to 18%.

Norway also entered the top 3 due to increased purchases of rapeseed oil from Russia. Its deliveries in 2021 amounted to 310 thousand tons for $374 million, which is 2.1 times more than in 2020, and the total export of Russian oil and fat products to Norway increased 2.4 times to $510 million.

According to Maltsev, with the introduction of an export duty on sunflower oil, the activity of trade with the distant markets of China and India has decreased, where it is required to withstand long time periods from the conclusion of a contract to the actual delivery of products to their destination. “The significant increase in purchases from Turkey is explained by a decrease in import duties on vegetable oils and the country’s desire to increase stocks against the backdrop of rising world prices for them. Norway is also a fairly large consumer of oil and fat products by the standards of European countries; it produces a large amount of animal feed, especially for aquaculture. Biodiesel is also actively produced in the country. In addition, this country has not introduced import duties on a number of agricultural products, including vegetable oils from Russia,” Maltsev noted.

Fish products

Export of fish and seafood last year decreased by 8.2% to 2.1 million tons in physical terms and increased by 25% to $6.7 billion in money terms.

Growth was driven by crustaceans, whose exports increased by 59% to $2.7 billion, as well as fish fillets (+43% to $729 million). Exports of frozen fish increased by 3.9% to $3 billion, prepared and canned fish and caviar - by 23% to $92 million, dried, salted and smoked fish - by 54% to $34 million.

The Republic of Korea has retained its status as the largest buyer of Russian fish and seafood. Last year, shipments to the East Asian country grew by 35% to $2.2 billion, about 49% of this volume fell on crustaceans, 42% - frozen fish. The second place was taken by the Netherlands, which increased imports by 72% to $1.5 billion, mainly due to increased purchases of crustaceans. China, which occupied the second place in 2020, reduced its imports by 31% to $1.1 billion and dropped to the third position. Including shipments of frozen fish from Russia fell 2.5 times to $479 million, while supplies of crustaceans increased by 66% to $565 million.

The growth in the value of exports is due to several factors, says German Zverev, president of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Industry (VARPE). “The main one is the increase in world prices for some types of aquatic biological resources, associated with high demand, as well as growing food inflation in the world. For example, prices for crab increased significantly last year, which ensured an increase in the value of exports of crustaceans by 59%. Another reason for the growth of exports in monetary terms is the transition from the raw material orientation of exports to the export of finished products. Thanks to the re-equipment of the existing fleet, factories and ships built as part of the investment quota program, Russian enterprises in 2021 significantly increased the production of fillet, minced pollock, cod and other types of white fish, and also launched the production of pollock surimi,” Zverev emphasized.

If we talk about the geography of deliveries, then last year Russian enterprises continued to work on diversifying sales markets. “The decrease in exports in physical terms was the result of restrictive measures introduced by China to prevent the spread of coronavirus. As a result, a large volume of fish products destined for China was exported there in transit through South Korea. In transit through the Netherlands, fish products were supplied to the EU and the USA, which generated high demand for white fish fillets (pollock and cod) and frozen crab. Thus, the logistics of supplies in 2021 has become a factor that determined the ranking of places in the top Russian importers of fish products,” Zverev concluded.

Meat products

Russian exports of meat and offal last year for the first time exceeded $1 billion. According to the results of January-December, 533 thousand tons of meat were delivered to foreign markets, which is 2.8% higher than in 2020, worth almost $1.2 billion (+32 %).

Poultry meat remains the leading export meat category, shipments of which increased by 3.5% to 306 thousand tons in physical terms and by 26% to $542 million in value terms. Pork was sent abroad 187 thousand tons (-3.3%) for $390 million (+16%), beef - 33 thousand tons (2 times more) for $216 million (2.4 times more ).

China remains the largest buyer, which, as in 2020, accounted for more than a third of Russian deliveries in the meat category. With a decrease in shipments to China in physical terms by 5.6% to 147 thousand tons, in value terms the volume increased by 27% to $401 million due to an increase in the share of beef in the structure. Last year, China accounted for 67% of all Russian cattle meat exports.

In second place is Vietnam, which increased imports of Russian meat to 102 thousand tons (+40%) in the amount of $188 million (+34%). Pork accounted for more than 90% of this volume. The third place was occupied by Ukraine - 68 thousand tons (-14%) for $122 million (+13%).

 The global meat trade throughout the past year was influenced by the pandemic, comments Sergey Yushin, head of the National Meat Association. “It has changed the structure and volume of consumption in a number of markets, it has also affected consumer opportunities, but it has had a particularly negative impact on the operation of supply chains. Exporters solved logistical problems by building alternative routes and transferring certain volumes of exported products from container shipping lines to combined ones with the railway. Another factor that influenced trade was the rise in the cost of logistics services in general and periodic disruptions in delivery schedules,” Yushin listed.

Taking into account all these factors, the results of 2021 can be considered successful, the expert is sure. “Thus, Russia has retained its leading position in the pork import market to Vietnam, which was noted during the visit of President Nguyen Xuan Phuc to Russia. The role of Russia by Vietnamese entrepreneurs and the Government is highly appreciated in terms of stabilizing prices in the domestic market of the Republic,” Yushin said. As for poultry meat, due to the fall in pork prices and the increase in broiler production in China, the competitiveness of products imported into China decreased last year, and the range of supplies was reduced. “Nevertheless, Russian poultry exporters were able to divert export volumes to other markets, successfully developing sales in the Middle East and Africa. At the same time, beef exports showed a multiple increase, exceeding our forecasts by 50%. This is due to the development of deliveries to China, where Russian products in terms of price turned out to be quite competitive and not inferior in quality and safety to other suppliers,” Yushin added.

Milk products

Export of dairy products in 2021 showed an increase of 17% to 243 thousand tons. In monetary terms, shipments reached $413 million, which is 30% higher than in 2020.

35,000 tons of cheese and cottage cheese were sent to foreign markets (+17%) in the amount of $126 million (+31%). Deliveries of fermented milk products increased by 16% to $96 million (87 thousand tons), ice cream - by 50% to $86 million (33 thousand tons), milk and cream - by 18% to $65 million (63 thousand tons), whey - by 91% to $22 million (19 thousand tons), butter - by 18% to $18 million (4.4 thousand tons).

The top 3 countries importing dairy products from Russia did not change last year. More than a third of the volume was sent to Kazakhstan ($156m, +18%), followed by Ukraine ($61m, +36%) and Belarus ($51m, +13%), according to the FCS. The United States came in fourth place, having increased imports by 2.9 times to $30 million due to purchases of ice cream.

“In 2021, Russian companies were able to take full advantage of the global market situation, which won back the fall after the lockdown. At the same time, Russia was able not only to significantly strengthen its position in the markets of the CIS countries, but also to expand the geography and structure of export deliveries. Ice cream can serve as an example: the largest market for cold treats in 2021 was the United States, exports to which grew 3.5 times to 14,000 tons, while the top 15 key consumer countries also included China, Canada, the EU and Africa . In addition, starting from 2020, the export of dry whey, the most promising product in the dairy category, has almost doubled annually,” said Alexei Gruzdev, General Director of Streda Consulting LLC.

Food and processing industry products

Russian exports of food and processing products in 2021 showed an increase of 15% to $5.2 billion. Growth drivers were confectionery and beverages.

Thus, the export of chocolate confectionery products increased by 18% to $872 million, flour confectionery products - by 23% to $557 million, water and non-alcoholic beer - by 55% to $380 million. In addition, the export of tobacco and cigarettes grew. by 8.8% to $588 million, tea and coffee - by 21% to $429 million.

Food prices in Russia and their change for the week and month, data as of March 18, 2022

The leading buyers of Russian products of the food and processing industry are partners in the Eurasian Economic Union - Kazakhstan with a 26% share and Belarus with 12%. Exports of food industry products to Kazakhstan in 2021 increased by 30% to $1.4 billion, to Belarus - by 16% to $620 million. The third place was occupied by Ukraine with $338 million (+16%).