Ukraine increases meat production despite continuing armed conflict

By Vladislav Vorotnikov

- Last updated on GMT

Related tags Pig farms Russia Ukraine Pork Poultry

Despite growth in the Ukrainian meat industry, warnings are still being issued over possible disruption
Despite growth in the Ukrainian meat industry, warnings are still being issued over possible disruption
Despite the unstable situation in south-east Ukraine, meat production during the first five months of the year grew by more than 50%, according to a report from the country’s statistical services.

In January-May the production of meat and poultry, including by-products, increased to 72,900 tonnes (t) compared with 47,700t in January-May 2013. The production of sausages during the same period rose to 107,000t compared with 104,900t during January-May 2013.

However, Ukraine authorities warned that the ongoing armed conflict in the south-east of the country could bring serious problems to the meat industry in coming months. Ukraine’s Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food claimed there was an increased risk for the pork market, due to the unstable situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, where the largest pig farms in the country are located.

"Pork production faces serious risks, because a lot of pig farms are located in the Donetsk region. As the previous government did not know the principle of not keeping all its eggs in one basket and the law [on state subsidies for pig farms] had been written specifically for Boris Kolesnikov [owner of the largest pork producer in the country – APK-Invest], only his pig farm had access to all the state funds within the compensation program to help with the cost of constructing pig farms,"​ said minister of agriculture and food Igor Schweich.

"So for the pork market the risks are higher than usual, as the largest manufacturer is located in the Donetsk region. At the same time it is difficult to assess how serious this situation is,"​ he added.

In 2013 APK-Invest produced 37,000t of pork, accounting for 18% of the total Ukraine pork market. Members of the Verhovni Rada (Parliament) have repeatedly blamed Kolesnikov for supporting pro-Russian rebels in the south-east of the country, and there were even calls to ruin or confiscate his business.

At the same time, the Ukraine crisis is continuing to affect Russian-European meat industry co-operation. The latest target of Russian restrictions is Serbia, where manufacturers were found to be secretly exporting meat from other countries of Europe to Russia, according to Russian authorities.

"Due to repeated and flagrant violations of the law of the Customs Union and the Russian Federation in the field of veterinary medicine, which was identified in the supply of pork from the Serbian enterprise RS 643, a special audit has been conducted, which showed the company supplied raw meat from Hungary, Spain and Croatia under the guise of raw meat from Serbia,"​ said veterinary body Rosselkhoznadzor.

This has caused a scandal in Russia, as it was reported that the supplied meat was found to contain faeces. The business has been banned from  supplying meat to the Customs Union, and Russian vets have promised to check thoroughly all meat shipments from Serbia.

Related topics Meat

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