The demand for meat in the world will grow

In RUSSIA, the production of poultry MEAT and pork in slaughter weight, according to preliminary estimates, last year increased by 4.4% and 5%, respectively, compared to the level of 2021, but there was a slight decrease in beef. In general, according to the results of last year, about 5.3 million tons of chicken meat in slaughter weight, 4.5 million tons of pork, 1.6 million tons of beef were produced in the country.

The production of turkey by domestic poultry farmers last year amounted to about 415 thousand tons. previous years, then by the end of 2023 we can become the second largest producer of this type of meat in the world,” predicts Aveltsov. Lamb production in our country, although not increasing, remains at a stable level, he added.

In 2019, our country became a net exporter of meat: exports exceeded imports, the expert recalled, and Russia continues to demonstrate success in this direction. In 2022, the EXPORT of meat and offal from Russia exceeded 0.5 million tons. Broiler meat producers showed particularly good performance in terms of foreign trade, and beef supplies to foreign markets also increased.

Aveltsov drew attention to the fact that today CHINA , which is a major importer of meat, is restoring its own production. “In China, pork output fell sharply in 2020 due to African swine fever (ASF). The reason is the large volume of production of this meat in household plots, however, along with the restoration of the industry, the market capacity for export supplies is decreasing,” he said. Moreover, large pig breeding projects are emerging in the country, including a 26-storey pig complex with a capacity of 1.2 million tons of pork per year.

In addition to the narrowing of the Chinese market as the world's main meat importer, Russian livestock breeders will face other challenges this year. The market for vegetable proteins is developing, which in the future may be cheaper than natural meat. There are also climatic, geopolitical, logistical, and epizootic challenges. The last market participants manage to cope very well: last year eight outbreaks of avian influenza were registered in Russia, while in Europe - more than 2 thousand, ASF - 141 and over 3 thousand, respectively. “Due to the fact that in Russia the bulk of poultry and pork is produced in the industrial sector, and not in household plots, epizootic safety in the country is at a high level,” Aveltsov emphasized.