Poultry goods take lion’s share

Experts at UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) issue bi-annual report on global eating habits and food prices, with no hint of catastrophe and good forecasts for corn harvest in Argentina, and for dairy market in Asia, alongside increased poultry volumes
By Marina Shumilo

Experts at UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) issue bi-annual report on global eating habits and food prices, with no hint of catastrophe and good forecasts for corn harvest in Argentina, and for dairy market in Asia, alongside increased poultry volumes


Last year, the world saw a record cereal crop of over 2.8 billion tonnes. This season, it hardly seems possible to break the record, with volumes likely to fall by 1.4 percent. However, countries within the Customs Union are raising standards, with the Russian Ministry of Agriculture asking for a 2014 harvest of 95 million tonnes of grain crops (against 90 million tonnes in 2013). Belarus is aiming for 9 million tonnes (against last year’s 7.6). Kazakhstan agrarians earn almost $1 billion a year from wheat exports but are reducing crop areas.


The new poultry plant with a capacity of 18,000 tonnes a year was put into operation in the Mogilev Region

Despite natural and political cataclysms, countries continue to sell foodstuffs, with world spending on food expected to remain stable, at $1.29 billion. However, increased volumes of trade and rising costs are raising the price of meat products. At the recent First Forum of Regions of Belarus and Russia, held in Minsk, ‘import’ issues were discussed repeatedly. The Chair of the Federation Council at Russia’s Federal Assembly, Valentina Matviyenko, notes rather pessimistically that countries within the Customs Union are yet to provide fully for domestic food needs, having to import a third of all consumption, at a cost of $45 billion annually. This dependence is especially acute in Russia, affecting sustainable development. However, those within the Eurasian Economic Union may be able to overcome these difficulties, via ‘internal’ trade in the spheres of agriculture and industry.

China is the leading exporter of meat, in particular pork, but rising agro-expenses are making its produce less competitive, as noted by the USA’s Ministry for Agriculture. Eastern countries are consuming more meat, as noted last year, when the largest Chinese manufacturer of pork, Shuanghui International (now known as WH Group), purchased American Smithfield Foods for $4.7 billion. What does this mean for meat producers around the world? Chinese investors are eager to invest elsewhere globally, merging companies to gain advantage.

This year, livestock production is expected to grow, with 311.8 million tonnes of meat sold worldwide. This reflects growth in developing countries and is yet to meet expanding world demand. Analysts believe that trade in beef and poultry will expand, while that in mutton and pork will fall. Poultry is set to comprise 43 percent of the ‘meat basket’.
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