Russia's meat production to increase by 6%

Russia's Agriculture Ministry expects the country's meat production to increase 6% on-year to 10.5 million tonnes in 2010, according to Agriculture Minister Yelena Skrynnik.

Government measures to support the agriculture sector, including subsidised loans, are expected to help achieve this growth, Skrynnik said.

In 2009, meat output in Russia rose 6.6%, with poultry output rising 14.6% and pork output rising 8.6%, she said. Meanwhile, meat imports fell 30% last year.

The ministry forecasted that Russia will produce enough meat for domestic consumption within 4-5 years and will then even be able to export poultry, the minister said. Large vertically-integrated holdings will play an important part in achieving the government’s goal to replace imported meat with domestic products, Skrynnik said.