May 23, 2012

Russia's poultry production rose by 15% to 280,000 metric tonnes in April, compared with a year earlier, the Federal State Statistics Service said.

Pork production rose about 11% to 75,000 tonnes and beef output fell 8.7% to 12,800 tonnes, the Moscow-based service, known as Rosstat, said today in an e-mailed statement. Production of all meats and byproducts, excluding poultry, gained 5.4% to 104,000 tonnes, it said.

Production of cattle and poultry in so-called live weight, which includes meat, bones and byproducts, increased 9.1% to 800,000 tonnes, Rosstat said.

Cattle numbers increased 1.2% to 21.2 million animals by the end of April compared with a year earlier, the service said. That number included 9.1 million cows. The hog count rose 3.1% to 18.6 million, while sheep and goats rose 9% to 26 million, Rosstat said.