Cherkizovo's pork and poultry sales prices improve

Cherkizovo, Russia's integrated meat processing company, saw its total sales volumes in the poultry and pork divisions improving in the first nine months of 2009 due to higher prices.

Cherkizovo's poultry sales amounted to 138,920 tonnes in Jan-Sept, up from 137,260 tonnes in the same period of 2008.

Prices for Cherkizovo poultry sales increased 19 percent on-year to RUB73.88. As a result of the 35-percent depreciation of the rouble over this period, prices in dollar terms decreased by 12 percent on-year to US$2.27 per kg.

Sales volumes in the pork division in Jan-Sept increased 23 percent to about 35,570 tonnes, reflecting the growing production of the new farms at Lipetsk and Tambov.

Prices for Cherkizovo pork sales increased 14 percent on-year to RUB75.38. In dollar terms, prices decreased by 16 percent on-year to US$2.32 per kg of live weight.

In the meat processing division, Cherkizovo continued to see decreased sales volumes of lower-priced products, and combined with lower consumption in the regions of Russia due to the challenging economic environment, affected the performance of the division.

Sales volumes decreased by 13 percent on-year to approximately 95,370 tonnes in the first nine months of 2009. Average prices increased by 13 percent on-year to RUB112.75. Segment prices in dollar terms decreased 16 percent on-year to US$3.47.

Cherkizovo CEO Sergey Mikhailov said the performance reflects the impact of favourable rouble pricing and continued sales momentum despite the current economic environment exerting a negative influence on consumption patterns.