Russia offers good market opportunities for pig industry production and processing technologies and genetics, but the country is not interested in importing pigmeat, not now and not in the future.
That was the message given to seminar delegates at this week’s SPACE 2016 event in northern France by Russia-based business development specialist, Stephan Shibaev.
Speaking on behalf of Bretagne Commerce International (BCI), Mr Shibaev (pictured above) said the pig sector trading picture in Russia was pretty straightforward, to the extent that the country is currently producing enough pigmeat of its own to satisfy domestic requirements and has no plans whatsoever to increase its volume of imports.
“On the other hand, the Russian marketplace looks very interesting for suppliers of all aspects of pigmeat production and manufacturing,” he told Pig World. “That includes equipment, feeding technologies and anything to do with breeding.”
Pointing out that a lot of things had changed in Russia over the last 10 years, since the government started to invest in the country’s pig industry, he made it clear that, irrespective of the recent WTO ruling or the future ending (he hoped) of EU sanctions, the selling of foreign pigmeat in Russia would remain “very difficult”.
The way to go for EU businesses, he added, was to concentrate on technology, equipment and genetics.
BCI works with over 4,500 local firms across Brittany, helping them to attract inward investors and partners, while also helping them to access new export opportunities. The organisation is also backed by the regional development agency, Bretagne Développement Innovation.