2024 Russian pork exports increased with record numbers
During the first 11 months of 2024, Russian pork exports jumped by 36% to 204,600 tonnes. This is the highest figure ever, the Russian state statistical service Rosselhoznadzor calculated. Taking pork by-products into account, by the end of the year, Russian pig farmers’ sales to foreign customers will cross the 300,000 tonnes mark, which aligns with the original forecasts.
The booming pork trade drives Russian meat exports to record heights. In 2024, Russia is expected to sell around 800,000 tonnes of meat to non-Russian customers, against 649,000 tonnes in the previous year, Rosselhozbank, the Russian state agricultural bank, has recently projected.
By-products generate value
Nearly 70% of the Russian pork exports is meat, and 20% is by-products, Yuri Kovalev, chairman of the Russian Union of Pork Producers, revealed. Remarkably, almost all pork by-products go to China and Vietnam, where their costs exceed that of pork. For instance, Kovalev revealed that under the 2024 contracts with Asian clients, the cost of pork was $2.5 per kg and the cost of by-products $3 per kg.
By-product exports to Asia are an important factor bolstering Russian exporters’ marginality, Kovalev indicated. In Russia, by-products are rarely consumed and primarily are ground into meat-and-bone meal. Selling by-products to Asia generates way more revenue for the Russian pig companies.
State protectionism
However, the future of Russian pork exports looks somewhat vague. Some analysts indicate that the governments in the key markets are increasingly leaning towards protectionism, a trend where countries impose tariffs or other barriers to protect their domestic industries from foreign competition, which could potentially affect Russian pork exports.
“The world is increasingly seeing a trend toward achieving food independence, so many countries are already trying to limit food imports for the sake of developing their own agricultural and food industries, even if such products are more expensive than imported ones,” Sergey Yushin, executive director of the National Meat Association told business newspaper Kommersant.
Exports to double
By 2030, Russian pork exports could double, Kovalev forecasted, speaking during an industry conference in early December. Currently, around 5% of Russian pork is exported. By the end of the decade, this level could grow to 10%, he suggested.
Russian pig farmers are primarily banking on the growth in exports to China. According to Kovalev, further expansion in sales to the markets where Russian pork is already present seems unlikely. However, the potential of the Chinese market is far from being fully tapped, he emphasised.
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