Russia to put additional backing behind meat producers
Speaking at a recent press conference, the country’s Minister of Agriculture Nikolai Federov said it was important to keep a positive development trend for the country’s meat industry.
“The poultry and pig industries in the Russian Federation are export-oriented. To deal with the problem of opening of new markets for Russian meat, we need to meet the challenges and fluctuations of the livestock industry associated with adverse weather conditions,” he said.
According to the Minister, major support tools will be used to overcome the effects of drought, which significantly raised the price of animal feed in Russia, in turn reducing the profitability of the livestock sector.
“To support manufacturers of meat products, including poultry, after the drought, the Russian government is looking for additional opportunities to overcome the effects of drought,” he explained.
Federov also pointed out the county’s agriculture-industrial development programme aims to increase pooultry and pork exports to several hundred thousand tonnes by 2020. Currently, the country only exports a few tens of thousands of tonnes.
The Minister previously told press at the international agricultural exhibition ‘Green Week 2013’ that Russian poultry enterprises would be able to start exporting their products to the EU in the coming months.
“A number of companies, including from the Altai Territory, Novosibirsk, Orenburskoy, Belgorod and Moscow regions, are ready to begin deliveries of poultry and eggs to the European market. Now, when formal restrictions are removed, suppliers need to address the issues of commercial policy, especially on pricing,” he said.
“I think that, in a few months, they will be able to come up with concrete proposals to the European market.”
