December 6, 2011

Russia posts 4.3% increase in pork imports

The total pork imports to Russia between January and September 2011 amounted to 500.5 thousand tonnes, a 4.3% on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia.

Specifically, imports of pork grew by 68.4% - up to 128.2 thousand tonnes.  The import of pork exceeded the volume of the same deliveries in 2010 on a monthly basis, indicating a steady increase in demand for imported meat in the current year.

The leading suppliers of pork to Russia in January to September 2011 are Brazil (25.2% of total imports), Germany (15.9%), Canada (14.8%), Denmark (12.3%) , USA (8.3%), Spain (7.0%) and France (5.2%).

Compared to on-year, the share of Brazil, Germany and France in total sales volume decreased. At the same time, the share of Canada, the USA, Spain and Ukraine increased significantly.

The volume of imports of live pigs in recalculation on carcass weight in September 2011 amounted to slightly more than 3.1 tonnes, 18.3% more than in August and 31.8% less than September of last year.

In January to September 2011, the volume of imports of live pigs in recalculation on carcass weight was about 30.0 thousand tonnes, which is 16.2% less than on-year.

The main suppliers of live pigs for slaughter in Russia in January to September 2011 were: Estonia (39.9% of total imports), Lithuania (30.8%) and Latvia (22.8%). Germany's share was only 2.7%, Denmark - 2.1%. Other countries accounted for about 1.7% of total deliveries.