Russian pork producers are aiming to capture 10% of China’s pork import market in the coming years, building on the growing economic ties between the two countries, which both face sanctions by the West, Reuters reports.
Russia did not export any pork to China until February, when Beijing authorised three Russian producers to sell pork into the lucrative Chinese import market, which is dominated by EU producers with a 51% share, alongside shipments from Brazil and North America.
According to Reuters, Russia is looking to take advantage of trade tensions between the EU and China, which has launched an anti-dumping investigation into EU pork, targeting Danish, Dutch, and Spanish pork companies. This was a direct response to the EU’s move to set provisional duties of up to 37.6% on electric cars imported from China to counter what it says are unfair subsidies.
“For us, these trade tensions represent a chance to showcase our competitiveness in the Chinese market,” Yuri Kovalyov, the head of Russia’s National Union of Pig Breeders, told Reuters, adding that producers were not seeking to exploit the tensions on purpose.
He said Russia’s goal was to supply 10% of China’s pork imports within three to four years, albeit in competition with the likes of Brazil and in the face of falling demand for pork in China.Â
Russian pork production
Russia is currently the fourth largest pork producer, behind China, the EU and the US, and broadly on par with Brazil. Its pork production is expected to reach 5.2 million metric tonnes in 2024 from 4.9 million in 2023 and a post-Soviet low of 1.5 million in 1999, Mr Kovalyov said. .
China’s imports of pork and offal fell 27.3% year-on-year to 1.11 million tons in the first half of 2024, its customs data show, Reuters reports.
Mr Kovalyov expects about 50,000-60,000 tons of Russian pork to head to China this year, around 3% of China’s total imports, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
The three Russian private producers authorised to sell pork to China – Miratorg, Velikoluksky Pig Breeding Complex, and Rusagro – are among Russia’s top five pork producers.
“We cautiously estimate that we will export 10,000 tons to China this year,” Rusagro deputy CEO Alexander Tarasov said. “The prices are at a premium of 30-40% to domestic prices.”
Miratorg said it had made the first deliveries from its logistics hub in Russia’s Belgorod region to the port of Nansha in southern China by both rail and sea.
The company said its overall pork exports jumped 70% last year and it plans to increase pork production by 5% to match demand growth.
“Russia definitely has the natural resources, feed base, and freshwater reserves to increase meat production multiple times over,” said Marina Demidova, Miratorg’s head of exports.
Agriculture minister Oksana Lut forecasts Russian pork exports to all countries will rise to 310,000 tons in 2024, including live pigs. “As newcomers, we have one of the most modern pork production sectors in the world,” he said.