April 19, 2012

Russia's poultry production and its by-products increased by 19% to 291,000 metric tonnes in March compared with a year earlier, statistics revealed.

Pork production rose 16% to 72,600 tonnes and beef output fell 4.5% to 13,400 tonnes, the Moscow-based service, known as Rosstat, said today in an e-mailed statement. Production of all meats and byproducts, excluding poultry, gained 11% to 102,500 tonnes, it said.

Production of cattle and poultry in so-called live weight, which includes meat, bones and byproducts, increased 8.2% to 900,000 tonnes, Rosstat said.

Cattle numbers increased 1.1% to 20.9 million animals by the end of March compared with a year earlier, the service said. That number included 9.1 million cows. The hog count rose 1.3% to 18.1 million, while sheep and goats rose 7.1% to 24.5 million, Rosstat said.