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Russia ready to take over EU exports from China
Russia is keen to take over the European Union’s role as an exporter of pork to China. This is an ambitious goal, as the country only started exporting in February this year and hopes to export 50.000 to 60.000 tonnes of meat to China this year. This is only a fraction of China’s total imports and the EU’s current share of these imports.
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Russian sources know that China imported 510.000 tons of pork and some 600.000 tons of 'by-products' in the first half of this year. The latter includes claws, tails and ears. Of all this, 51% came from the EU, as also shown by Chinese data. Within the EU, Spain is by far the largest exporter, accounting for 27,8% of all Chinese pork imports, followed by Denmark with 6,7% and the Netherlands with 6,1%. Brazil is the largest individual country of origin with 28,1% of imports.
Russia in top 5 in half a year
Russia entered the top 5 of largest foreign suppliers in June, partly as a result of Chinese trade sanctions against European pork. The Chinese market is an attractive destination for Russians. The prices paid there are 30% to 40% higher than they get for the meat in their own country, according to chairman Yuri Kovalev of the Russian Union of Pig Farmers in Russian media.
Due to African swine fever, which was also circulating in Russia, exports to China were not possible for a long time, but in September last year an agreement was reached with the Chinese authorities and the first exports have been underway since February.
Now that European pork exports to China have become part of a Sino-European trade war over the import of electric cars, the Russians feel there are additional opportunities.
The first candidates for export to Russia are the big five in the Russian pig sector, conglomerates such as Rosagro and Miratorg. Small players are not involved.
Russian competitors
Russian pork companies are not affected much by Western sanctions. The feed for the pigs is produced domestically and the breeding lines are now almost entirely managed by the company itself. Competition comes mainly from countries such as Brazil and the US. They continue to export a lot, because although the Chinese now have a smaller purse than before the corona pandemic, pork is still high on the Chinese menu and their own production cannot keep up with demand. Up to and including July, 3% fewer pigs were slaughtered in China itself, because there was less supply.
For the Russians it is still quite a feat to take over the entire European export, if it ever comes to that. The first goal now is to fill 10% of the Chinese imports. That is still expected to take three to four years.