World meat industry news

According to Argus system data, in 2021, Russia exported 31 thousand tons of beef. This is almost twice as much as in 2020, when beef exports amounted to 15.9 thousand tons, said the Rosselkhoznadzor press office.

The regulator clarified that China stands as Russia’s biggest customer of beef. 20.1 thousand tons of beef were shipped to China, which is 2.3 times higher than in 2020 (8.7 thousand tons).

Also, among the top three major importers of Russian meat are Kazakhstan (shipped 2.2 thousand tons of products in 2021 compared to 1.05 thousand tons in 2020) and Saudi Arabia (exported 2 thousand tons in 2021 compared to 1.7 thousand tons in 2020).

Overall, in 2021, meat products exports increased to 585 thousand tons compared to 79 thousand tons in 2020, explained Rosselkhoznadzor.

Russian pork exports grew by 7%. Pork exports in 2021 amounted to 124 thousand tons. In 2020, this figure was 115.4 thousand tons. 

The major importer of Russian pork, Vietnam, purchased 53.2 thousand tons of pork, which is 8% more than in 2020 (49 thousand tons).

The department pointed out that the horsemeat exports rose in 2021. In 2021, horsemeat exports increased 6 times and reached at 1.4 thousand tons compared to 224 tons in 2020.

The biggest buyer of Russian horsemeat is Kazakhstan. Russian producers shipped to the country 1.3 thousand tons of horsemeat. In 2020, Kazakhstan only exported 177 tons of Russian horsemeat.

Finished meat products exports also grew by 33%. In 2021, 73.8 thousand tons of finished meat products were shipped abroad. In 2020, this figure was three times lower - 55.2 thousand tons.

In 2021, export volumes of poultry meat and offal were high, noted Rosselkhoznadzor. In 2021, 298.7 thousand tons of poultry meat and offal were exported abroad (compared to 287.5 thousand tons in 2020).

The major buyers of Russian poultry meat are China (121.7 thousand tons) and Ukraine (38.7 thousand tons).