Chicken egg production in Russia has been falling for the sixth month in a row. According to the January-February results of this year, production volume decreased by 1.8 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to 6.11 billion units. “Kommersant”.
Experts attribute this decline to the consequences of bird flu epidemics. However, retail chains have not yet noticed the impact of the reduction in supply on prices, as demand is stable. Market participants expect the Easter period to be a showcase for the sector.
According to the Russian Poultry Association, in February this year alone, chicken egg production decreased by 1.5 percent compared to the previous year and by 7.5 percent compared to the previous month, reaching 29.3 billion units. General Director of the Russian Poultry Association Galina Bobyleva declined to comment.
Egg production volume has remained lower than last year since September 2023, and prices for this product are increasing, according to data from Rosstat. In the period January-December 2023, average consumer prices for eggs increased by 1.6 times, reaching 132.45 rubles per ten pieces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described the situation in egg prices as “a failure in the government’s work” and explained the increase in demand with limited supply.
To stabilize the market in Russia, duty-free quotas were introduced for the import of 1.2 billion eggs this year.
The Ministry of Agriculture also announced plans to increase production and transfer producers and retail chains to long-term contracts. Overall egg production increased by 1.8% last year, reaching 38.05 billion. According to Rosstat, retail chicken eggs in February 2024 cost an average of 129.17 rubles per ten pieces.
Expert Albert Davleev from Agrifood Strategies associates the decrease in chicken egg production with bird flu epidemics. He drew attention to a case of the disease at the Vladimirskaya poultry farm in the Astrakhan region in January this year. Poultry farms specializing in egg production are more vulnerable to bird flu than farms specializing in meat.
Sergei Yushin from the National Meat Association believes that not all poultry farms where cases of bird flu were detected in 2023 have resumed production. This process can take from several months to a year and a half.
Alexey Kletsko from Yakov and Partners expects that the restoration of work at factories affected by bird flu epidemics in the Yaroslavl and Vologda regions, as well as the increase in production at enterprises in the Rostov and Leningrad regions, will allow them to exceed last year’s levels in the near term.
Retailers state that the decrease in chicken egg supply is remarkable, but this is not reflected in prices.
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