World meat industry news

In Russia, there is an increase in prices for poultry meat and eggs, which leads to serious consequences for the industry. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture has prepared a bill on a temporary ban on the export of certain types of poultry and eggs from the country. If this bill is passed, exports will be limited from December this year until mid-summer 2024.

The main reason for this move was the increase in prices for poultry and eggs by 25.3% and 24%, respectively, over the past 12 months. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, this is due to a decrease in production volumes of these products in recent months and an increase in their cost due to the high exchange rate of the US dollar.

However, even with the introduction of an export ban, it will be difficult to reduce import dependence in the agricultural sector. The National Union of Meat Processors previously proposed that the Ministry of Agriculture introduce export duties or set quotas on the sale of poultry meat abroad. They believed that such measures would help reduce poultry prices. However, the Russian Poultry Union attributes the rise in prices to seasonality and increased demand after Lent and the beginning of the holiday season.

The National Meat Union also considers the initiative to limit exports harmful, arguing that the country has enough poultry, and even with the rise in price, it remains cheaper than on world markets.

According to the Imit agency, in the first quarter of this year, poultry meat exports from Russia increased by 4 percent, reaching 86.2 thousand tons. This indicates that Russian manufacturers are actively and successfully promoting their products on the international market.

However, according to Rosselkhoznadzor, over the eight months of this year there was a decrease in the volume of poultry meat exports, amounting to just under 214.5 thousand tons compared to 231.9 thousand tons in the previous year. Despite this, Assistant to the Head of Rosselkhoznadzor Artyom Daushev expressed hope that export volumes in 2023 will be equal to last year’s figures and reach almost 340 thousand tons.

At the conference “Measures to Increase the Competitiveness of Russian Exporters of Agro-Industrial Products” in August 2023, the General Director of the National Union of Poultry Farmers Sergei Lakhtyukhov noted that since 2019, exports of poultry meat from Russia have increased by 68 percent, which allowed the country to enter the top 10 global exporters of this product . This achievement is the result of the efforts of Russian manufacturers and support from the state.

One of the reasons for the high export rates of poultry meat from Russia is the large-scale government support that the agro-industrial complex receives. Preferential loans and subsidies for logistics-related costs played an important role in mitigating risks and maintaining the direction of exports. However, there is some concern about future prospects, as some market players believe that a sharp restriction on the export of products could have a negative impact on the economy as a whole.

In the Russian poultry industry, the share of foreign components is about 30 percent, including vaccines, veterinary drugs, feed additives and genetic material. This becomes a significant import expense. Chicken crosses such as broilers account for 95-97 percent of poultry meat production, while their share in egg production is 75 percent. At the same time, breeding material, including hatching eggs and day-old young animals, is supplied from abroad by two large transnational companies - Aviagen Brands and Cobb-Vantress.

However, within the framework of the Federal Scientific and Technical Program for the Development of Agriculture for 2017-2025, a subprogram was developed aimed at creating a domestic competitive cross of meat chickens for the production of broilers. As a result of this work, only two days ago, the first full-cycle breeding center in Russia called “Smena-9” was opened, where research and work on breeding domestic chicken crosses is carried out.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, by 2030, poultry production of this new domestic cross will provide at least 25 percent of the domestic chicken meat market. This is a significant step towards reducing import dependence in poultry farming and increasing the competitiveness of domestic products.

However, in addition to developing new crosses, farmers hope for support from the authorities. Introducing restrictions on the export of poultry meat may be one of the ways to support the domestic poultry industry. However, it is also necessary to find other support measures that will help maintain stable prices for this important product. The development of domestic cross breeding of chickens is an important step towards the sustainable development of the Russian poultry industry

Reducing import dependence in poultry farming is not only of economic importance, but also contributes to the development of national science and technology in the field of poultry breeding. This will allow the country to become more self-sufficient in poultry production and will strengthen its position in the world market.