Russia's pork industry still depends on the domestic market
Pork businesses from Russia are depending on the domestic market developement as the African swine fever keeps outbreaking in different sides of the country, said Simon Grey, Genesus General Manager for Russia, CIS, and Europe in an analysis dedicated to this market.
Last year, an ASF outbreak in Belgorod affected 3 out of 4 major pork producers in this country as the region has a lot of production facilities in it. Due to monthly ASF outbreaks, Russia's role as a pigmeat exporter is discredited, forcing the producers to rely on the domestic consumption.
"In 2018 Russian pig producers will want to expand within the domestic market. 2017 saw good growth in domestic pigmeat consumption. There were several factors for this improving economy. However, consumption in Russia, a natural pig meat eating country still lags well behind others in Europe that were once part of the Soviet Union", said Grey.
But there is also a downside in responding to the costumer's preferences as the official Russian grading system for pigs still has the top grade for pigs that are under 100kg at slaughter and have less than 10mm backfat. And that is exactly what the Russian market does not require. Russian's favorite cut of pork is neck because it has more fat which makes it tastier.
One solution for pork businesses to adapt is to move to a new grading system similar to the one proposed by the USDA that actually pays more for pork that is better to eat, recommends Simon Grey.
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