May 24, 2012

Russia to meet its beef requirements fully by 2018-20

Following the conference on beef husbandry development that was chaired by Premier Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters on Wednesday (May 23) that Russia will be able to fully meet its needs in beef by 2018-20.

"It will be possible to meet the needs of the larger part of Russia's population in reasonably priced quality beef by 2018-20," Dvorkovich forecast.

"Eight or 10 major projects are needed in order to meet Russia's needs in beef," the deputy premier holds. "In addition to major projects there must be dozens of medium-sized farms in most Russian regions," he believes.

There are good prospects for horned cattle husbandry in the Altai, in the Far East and in Siberia that have lands for pastures, Dvorkovich noted. At the same time, he said, these projects take considerable time to be recouped: "It takes about five years to complete one project, while it can be recouped in over 10 years."