February 3, 2004

 

 

Chicken Prices in Russia Rise 20-30%

 

Chicken prices have risen 20 to 30 percent in Moscow, Russia, following the bird flu outbreak in Asia.

 

Prices on U.S. poultry in Russia went up 7 rubles per kilogram over the past week to about 26 rubles (88 cents).

 

Although Russia does not import much poultry from Asia, the epidemic has given U.S. producers a carte blanche to hike prices over increased global demand, hitting consumers' pocket books in Russia and all over the world.

 

A number of countries have banned Asian poultry, and Russian health officials slapped a ban on the meat Monday.

 

"The bird flu has undoubtedly played into the hands of American producers," said Dmitry Rylko, director of the Institute for Agricultural Market Studies in Moscow.

 

"This has opened up a lot of markets for them in countries that used to be supplied by Thailand, and in the past 10 days they have been able to raise prices."

 

Most of those affected by the bird flu have so far been workers at poultry farms in Asia, but Russian health officials are concerned consumers could become infected by contaminated meat, too.

 

"The human body is not made to deal with a disease that develops so quickly," Health Ministry spokeswoman Lyubov Voropayeva said.

 

The disease sets in with flu-like symptoms, making it hard to diagnose, and rapidly develops into a fatal pneumonia, she said.

 

Russia imports some 50 percent of its poultry because inefficient Soviet-era chicken farms are unable to cope with demand. Most of those imports are accounted for by U.S. companies, making Tyson a household name to Russians as well as Americans.

 

The market for U.S. chicken in Russia has been large since the first Bush administration bailed out ordinary Russians with a humanitarian aid shipment of drumsticks in 1991. American chicken has since been known as "Bush legs."

 

U.S. producers now sell about $700 million worth of chicken in Russia each year, compared to $11 million in 1992, according to various media reports.

 

But chicken may soon be in short supply in Moscow supermarkets. The high prices on U.S. poultry has caused some Russian importers to start freezing imports. "The prices are just to high for our companies," Rylko said.