Moscow's sausage market growing

Russian consulting agency Market Advice has carried out an in-depth analysis of the Moscow sausage market. In order to gauge an accurate picture of the industry, the organisation interviewed the sales and marketing departments of the top 20 largest traders of sausages & related products in the region.

The research uncovered a number if interesting patterns - most notably the growing strength of the sausage sector. Market volume of sausages and related products in Moscow topped 350 thousand tons in 2002, a figure that represents a market increase of 22 per cent compared with 2001.

More specialised segments of the sausage sector, such as premium products, have proved to be highly successful. These products have experienced the largest growth in terms of volume.

Indeed, the volume of the premium sausage segment in the Moscow market of sausages & related products topped 35 thousand tons last year. Major manufacturers in the Moscow region include Mikoyanovskiy (Mikoms), Cherkizovsky and Klinsky.

The overwhelming majority of those interviewed agreed that prices for a range of finished meat-processed products increased in 2002. Many point to the fact that the government policy of import beef and pork quoting led to a reduction in the amount of imported raw meat to Russia. Imported meat is cheaper than domestically produced Russian meat.

The majority of those interviewed expressed the belief that there will be a continued increase in the consumption of expensive premium class meat products up to 2007. Many also predict that the total growth in volume of this segment will exceed 50 per cent, and that the market place is likely to become more competitive.