Beef production in Russia is expected to decline in the coming years
Beef production in the Russian Federation will decline in the coming years, its domestic consumption will be replaced by cheaper pork and chicken meat, high-quality beef will continue to be exported, so business does not see any prospects for investing in beef cattle breeding, says Roman Kostyuk, General Director of the National Union of Beef Producers.
"In the near future, the reduction in beef production (in the Russian Federation - ed.) will have a strong trend, the reduction in high-quality beef is due to the fact that it is exported, since only two producers are able to produce and export it," Kostyuk said. during the conference "Livestock and feed production in the new reality".
He also drew attention to the high cost of beef production and the insufficient number of large producers: in the Russian Federation there are 195 industrial enterprises engaged in beef cattle breeding, while half of the beef cattle breeding population in the country is scattered among farmers.
"Due to the decrease in the purchasing power of the population and the growth in the production of cheap pork and poultry, we are replacing beef, for which we are more than 20% dependent on imports," he added. The Russian Federation mainly imports beef from Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, mainly as a raw material for food production.
The source of our own beef is the promising growing dairy industry. There are difficulties with importing livestock from Europe, even for paid animals. At the same time, the US could well supply livestock to Russia.
According to the Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), in 2021, beef production amounted to 3.1 million tons (+0.6% year-on-year).
Source: meatinfo