August 6, 2009

The Russian government intends to introduce a quota system to regulate the domestic poultry market.

 

With an expected annual increase of 15-16 percent in poultry production by 2010, Russia's import ratio to the domestic poultry production will be 20-80 percent, according to officials from Russia's Agricultural Ministry.

 

It is reported that Russia is expected to be 100 percent self-sufficient in its poultry needs.

 

These plans have been sharply criticised by some Russian poultry industry players. They said regulating the domestic market with the quota system is a European practice only, caused by ecological factors.

 

Russia will also face a tough fight should it enter competition with Western rivals, as it has less favourable conditions than Brazil or the US, and the two countries have a somewhat different poultry meat consumer pattern, they said.

 

Local producers fear that the introduction of a quota system would aggravate the situation in the market, because production levels of Russian companies do not provide domestic food safety.

 

In addition, the future of the producers remains unclear amid the current financial and economic crisis, and many poultry farming investment projects have been stopped.