February 12, 2010

Russia producers target marbled beef segment

Russia's largest meat producers plan to increase the production of marbled beef in the country in the coming years.

Miratorg, one of Russia's biggest meat producers, recently announced plans to purchase 30,000 head of cows and 1,000 bulls in order to create a marble beef sector in Russia's Bryansk region. Local meat producer Suragro also plans to launch a complex for the production of marbled beef, and will buy about 300 cows of Aberdeen-Angus breed from Australia.

President of the Russian Meat Union, Musheg Mamikonyan, said currently there are no companies in Russia that have an opportunity to produce marbled meat on an industrial scale.

Most marbled meat is usually supplied from Australia, the US and South America. According to Mamikonyan, the share of marbled meat in total meat imports to Russia does not exceed 1%, with prices amounted to EUR23-25 (US$31.4-US$34.17) per kg.