China approves Russian pork imports

The export restrictions have been in place since 2008 when African Swine Fever (ASF) was first detected. The Russian counterpart of the NVWA (Rosselkhoznadzor) indicates that it has fought for ten years for the renewed authorization. Russia thinks it can score high. Now that the decision has been made, Russia has set itself a long-term export target of 200.000 tons per year.

Russia's admission does not seem to make it any easier for Europe to export pork to China. The Russian target is about 10% of Chinese export demand, which averages around 2 million tons per year. Lower exports from the Asian country is one of the main reasons for the current pressure on pork prices. Because slaughter prices in Europe have been considerably higher since the war in Ukraine than in North and South America, it has become a lot more difficult for European companies in the meat sector to sell pork in China.

Doubling
Russia has been aiming for increased pork production for export for years. Sergey Kovlav of the Russian Union of Pork Producers (RUPP) estimates exports in 2022 to be around 200.000 tons, but estimates that the figure could grow to 400.000 or 500.000 tons with the opening of the Chinese market. In addition to the Chinese market, Russia believes it can still grow significantly in other Asian markets. He estimates that production will grow by about 2023% per year in 2024 and 5.