Russia not only caught up, but also overtook the US on cheap chicken: the difference in prices for Russian and the US poultry meat in recent years has reached a record level. "According to official statistics, in 2018, the average retail price in the United States was $ 3.2 per kilogram, and in Russia - $ 2.1", Andrei Dalnov said, chief analyst at Cherkizovo Group (one of the largest Russian meat and meat products producers).
Managing partner of Agro and Food Communications consulting agency Ilya Bereznyuk confirmed these figures. "It’s difficult for us to compete in value with another world leader in broiler farming and processing - Brazil, but we can compete with the US in world markets for a long time," he said.
Why did Russia manage to overtake the United States? "Firstly, meat production increased significantly. Poultry meat consumption per capita has increased threefold since the mid-1990s to 35 kilograms. Chicken makes up about 33 kilograms of this amount, 2 kilograms - turkey and other types of poultry," Dalnov noted. "Secondly, the supply structure has changed dramatically: if in the early 1990s imports accounted for two thirds of consumption, now the share of domestic production is close to 100 percent," he added.
The ruble weakening has also become a factor. According to Bereznyuk, the cost of meat production in Russia is almost entirely dependent on the dollar: the most important components are either imported or exported. "But even with the above factors, the low price level for Russian chicken meat products shows that the production and sales chain of poultry meat in Russia is one of the most efficient," he concluded.
Source: rynok-apk.ru.
