World meat industry news

The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill specifying the procedure for issuing permits for the import of breeding products (material). The document was initiated by a group of deputies. The bill clarifies the procedure for importing breeding products, as well as the conditions for using semen and embryos of breeding animals for the purpose of their breeding. It is proposed to import pedigree products from countries that are not member states of the EAEU, subject to confirmation of its pedigree value in the presence of a permit for the import of pedigree products issued by the authority in the field of pedigree livestock breeding.

Currently, there are no requirements in the legislation for the use of semen and embryos of breeding animals if they are obtained from breeding animals registered abroad, the explanatory note says. "Despite the significant achievements of recent years in breeding, the complete rejection of foreign genetics can lead to serious consequences, both for the further development of the industry and for animal husbandry in general. For example, the share of the use of imported breeding material in poultry farming in the form of today remains very high and amounts to more than 90%," the authors of the document state.

According to the draft law, the relevant authority establishes the form and procedure for issuing an import permit, the procedure for confirming the breeding value of farm animals imported into the Russian Federation, their semen and embryos, as well as the procedure for conducting a molecular genetic examination of breeding products conducted by accredited legal entities, individual entrepreneurs, for the account of the person applying for the import permit. Based on the results of this examination, access to the use and sale of imported semen and embryos of breeding animals will be established. The use of semen and embryos of breeding animals for their breeding is provided only in the presence of an identification number, breeding certificates or on the basis of an import permit in the presence of the results of a molecular genetic examination.

“According to expert data, the cost of genetic analysis of one head of a breeding animal is currently about 4 thousand rubles. In 2021, about 5 million doses of semen from 120 breeding bulls were imported into the Russian Federation. semen in the amount of 1.5 million doses from 60 breeding bulls, when conducting a genetic examination in our country will amount to about 240 thousand rubles.Given that the purchase of imported semen of breeding bulls is about $1.5 sales in the Russian Federation are carried out at a price of $6-8, the estimated additional costs for market participants will not be a significant financial burden and should not affect the final price of breeding products," the explanatory note says.