Exporting high-quality beef – importing low-quality buffalo meat: how Russia is restructuring the meat market without Ukrainian raw materials
10 February 12:14
The share of Indian beef on the Russian market doubled last year; formally, it is beef, but in fact, it is buffalo meat.
This was reported to the Russian propaganda media by Sergei Yushin, head of the National Meat Association of the Russian Federation, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
“Buffalo meat is about 10-15% cheaper than regular beef from dairy and meat breeds, so India is actively increasing supplies to Russia and other countries, displacing competitors in the global market. This is leaner meat, and it is rarely sold at retail: most of it goes to processing — for minced meat, sausages, and semi-finished products,” the expert noted.
Latin American countries — Paraguay, Colombia, and Argentina — remain suppliers of beef to Russia. At the same time, Russia itself exports premium meat and live cattle: about 35,000 tons were sent to the Middle East, Central Asia, and China last year. Supplies to Asia, particularly Vietnam, are now expanding, and channels with Africa are being established.
The main pressure on the Russian domestic market comes from the fact that the cheapest parts of carcasses are imported from far abroad. This is raw material for processors: minced meat, burger patties, sausages, canned goods, and delicatessen products.
“The meat is safe and meets the quality requirements of the factories, but they buy it precisely because it is the cheapest. Imports were further stimulated by the strengthening of the ruble from 100 to 75 per dollar and zero duty on beef from distant foreign countries, which has been in effect for four years and has been extended to 2026. At the same time, many countries — from China and Turkey to Morocco and Thailand — protect their producers by applying high customs duties on imports. As a result, Russian processors are increasingly refusing to buy raw materials from local producers, preferring cheaper Brazilian or Indian meat,” Yushin explained.
According to him, domestic beef production in Russia has virtually stopped growing. If the country does not invest in the industry and increase its livestock numbers, it will have to significantly increase imports by 2030 — but by that time, they will no longer be so cheap, as global demand for beef is growing steadily.
