Cherkizovo Group, a Russian meat processor, increased its poultry sales by 6% on the year to 46,570 tonnes in January-March, the company said in a statement Wednesday (May 5).

Cherkizovo Group's pork production rose 79% on the year to about 17,505 tonnes, whereas the processed meat sales increased 9% on the year to about 30,800 tonnes in the same period.

In 2009, its poultry sales decreased 2% on the year to 184,300 tonnes.

Last February, the company has planned to double its meat production at its Penza poultry cluster raising its output by 40% in 2012.

In its Bryansk poultry cluster, Cherkizovo has also started a large-scale project which would produce an estimated live weight poultry meat capacity of 63,500 tonnes per year.