July 14, 2011

Russia's feed production continues upward trend

Russia's production of animal feed in the period from January to May 2011 grew by 8.7% compared with the same period last year, maintaining an upward trend in compound feed production.

According to Russia's Federal State Statistics Service, Russia produced 1,495,800 tonnes of compound animal feed in May 2011, which is 10.2% more than in May 2010, and 1.2% more than in April 2011.

In 2010, production increased by 9% compared with 2009.

Production of animal feed for poultry in May 2011 increased by 1.4% compared with April 2011, and production of pig feed by 3.3%, while production of cattle feed continued to decline almost by 5.5%.

According to the Federal State Statistics Service, production of protein and vitamin supplements decreased by 9.7% in May 2011 to 13,200 tonnes compared to April.

Russia is among the ten largest producers of animal feed in the world.

Despite the general positive trend, the Ministry of Agriculture discussed the problems of the industry at a recent meeting.

Food animals in Russia consume two to three times more feed then in other developed countries, due to imbalances in the feed such as protein content and amino acid composition.