Putin promises support for Russian pork and poultry industries
Putin was speaking at a recent meeting of parliamentary groups in response to information provided by the leader of Russia’s Communist Party, Gennady Zyuganov, who claimed that farmers are currently suffering profitability losses of more than 25-30%, which could threaten the sustainability of the pig and poultry sectors in Russia. Previous estimates from the Ministry of Agriculture suggested losses were around 10%.
“According to my information, today pork producers in Russia are losing RUB15-RUB20 (US$0.5-US$0.65) per kilogram, while poultry producers are losing RUB10 (US$0.35),” said Zyuganov.
Stating that he would check the figures, Putin said: “This is a signal and we should react. I have repeatedly pointed out to the government that we must conduct some work for individual sectors that fall under a special burden [due to country’s WTO accession], as they need help.”
The President also noted that assistance would be provided in addition to existing support programmes for the industry. According to Putin, this year, the volume of financial support for agriculture in Russia will be a record amount.
“Recently, the government has decided to spend an additional RUB42bn (US$400m) on support and, with the regional support this year, the total financial aid for agriculture will amount to about RUB260bn, which is about US$8bn,” he said.
However, experts point out that, despite this support, the situation in the Russian meat industry is becoming critical. Over the past nine months, meat prices have fallen by 20-40% in some regions, with pork prices cut almost in half.
According to official statistics, only large pig farms have been able to maintain positive profit margins, while smaller producers cannot maintain profitability in the face of competition from cheap imports.
