Russia’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession process is helping to bring the country’s legal and regulatory regime in line with internationally accepted practices. These changes will likely remove many of the current barriers for beef and pork, such as Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) that restrict the flow of trade.
Russia is the 4th largest importer of beef and veal products (including offal) in the world, and the 5th largest importer of pork products. In 2010, Canada was the 5th largest exporter of pork products to Russia, exporting around CAD$185.4 million worth of mostly frozen pork cuts. When it comes to beef, Canada was only the 12th largest exporter of beef and beef products to Russia in 2010. However, market access for beef has recently expanded as a major producer of beef products was verified to export by Russian authorities. Exports of beef from Canada to Russia rose from CAD$5.5 million in 2009 to CAD$23.8 million in 2010. Pork exports are expected to continue to rebound in 2011, following the recession and reduced market access due to outbreaks of the H1N1 flu in 2009.
Per capita consumption of beef in Russia has been on the decline, but premium imports are still in demand due to a lack of domestic production for these types of meats. Offal is also imported on a regular basis. Per capita pork consumption in Russia has increased significantly since 2000, but dipped slightly in 2009. In comparison, poultry consumption has also grown significantly since 2000, but started to see a decline in 2010.
The frozen meat* market is the largest meat retail market in Russia, followed by the chilled, fresh and canned meat markets. Whole/cuts/joints of meat are popular in the chilled, fresh and frozen meat categories.
There are opportunities for meat exporters to capture both the high-end and low-end of the market for beef and pork products. The foodservice sector and the Russian meat processing industry, are good entry channels for Canadian beef and pork exporters. Sourcing for private label retailers can also be an option, as Canadian brands are generally not known in Russia.
