World meat industry news

In 2020-2021, the demand for meat has been growing because the pandemic has kept people at home and spending more money on food than on vacation. As a result, pork consumption in Russia increased by almost 2% in 2021, to 28.3 kilograms per person per year. This is the highest figure in the last 30 years.

Also in 2021, the situation was saved by an increase in wholesale prices for pork, which amounted to 15-20%. The situational complex of epizootic problems (ASF, PRRS and others) made its contribution. In 2021, they led to a decrease in production by 200 thousand tons.

From January to September 2021, the increase in pork production in SHPs was the lowest in the last ten years - only half a percent. The recovery of production growth in the fourth quarter of 2021 (more than 3.5%) continued at the beginning of 2022 (+5.8%), setting a positive trend (about 5%) for the entire current year.

At the same time, in the first quarter of 2022, pork exports were 42% lower compared to the same period in 2021. In Russia, an additional 2% of the total pork market remains.

The reasons are:

• recovery of pig production in China and Vietnam;

• unfavorable world market for pork prices;

• high prices in the domestic market;

• logistics problems due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic;

• due to transport problems in April this year, the decline intensified.

The main trends and risks of 2022, which are of great importance to us, are a decline in demand. Over the past two years, production costs have increased by 35-40% and in 2022, as we predict, will increase by another 15-20%. Therefore, it is critically important for us to develop domestic consumption. And for this it is necessary to increase the purchasing power of the population. We also expect that trade within the EAEU will develop - on market principles, of course.