World meat industry news

Russia this year will increase pork production in agricultural organizations by almost 8%, to 5.28 million tons against 4.9 million tons in 2021.

"Practically from 6% to 10% monthly there is an increase in industrial production. For the whole year, we believe that the increase will be at least 8%, or almost 350 thousand tons," Yury Kovalev, general director of the National Union of Pig Breeders, said on Thursday at the conference "Agrotrends Russia 2022-2023" in Moscow.

For 9 months of this year, production increased by 7.9%, to 3.9 million tons. At the same time, the growth rate increased from 5.8% in the first quarter to 9.3% in the third, according to the presentation of the union. As a result, since the beginning of the year, wholesale prices for live pigs have decreased by 5.9% compared to the same period last year, to 118.59 rubles per kg. At the end of the year, the wholesale price is expected at the level of 116-118 rubles per kg. "The fall in prices compared to last year will be 6-7%, this is a more or less tolerable result," - said Kovalev.

At the same time, he said that recently the prices for pork are approaching the prices for poultry meat. "If earlier the average price difference for a poultry carcass and a half-carcass of pork was 50%, now it is 20-25%, and boneless pork and chicken fillets are equal in price," the head of the union stated.

According to Kovalev, the risk of oversaturation of the domestic pork market remains. "Investment loans will ensure the growth of production until 2024 inclusive, only after 2025 this investment fuse will subside," he said. According to the presentation, in 2023, production in the industrial sector may increase to 5.7 million tons, in 2024 - up to 6.005 million tons, in 2025 - up to 6.035 million tons. "By 2025, the growth in pork production due to the commissioning of new pig complexes built on investment loans issued at the end of 2018 will stop," the document says.

Kovalev recalled that the amount of these loans is about 250 billion rubles. In subsequent years, such loans were not provided to the industry, since full self-sufficiency in pork was achieved.