Agricultural holdings of Tatarstan to keep prices for eggs and poultry

Have prices been inflated by 40 outbreaks of avian flu?

Due to the difficult epidemiological situation in poultry farming, the production of poultry meat and eggs decreased markedly last year, which led to significant price fluctuations within the country. But with the introduction of a duty-free regime for the import of meat products, domestic producers are going to adhere to the current price situation. “As for the prices of our holding's products, due to the abolition of import duties, we do not plan to reduce these prices," Svetlana Barsukova said. According to her, the market has adapted sufficiently to the current price level for poultry meat and eggs, which is going to keep during 2024, but with small deviations.

Let us remind that the jumps in retail prices for poultry meat and eggs began to occur in the spring of last year. By the end of December, the cost of eggs increased in an abnormal progression from 60 to 130 rubles per dozen. Back in May, industry analysts began to record a “physical shortage of volumes” of broiler meat, although the exact scale of the shortage was not called. They pointed out that there is a growing demand for chicken meat and eggs in the market, and attributed this to numerous outbreaks of avian flu. The Rosselkhoznadzor of the Russian Federation reported that 40 incidents were recorded in the country, among them those that occurred in Tatarstan. At the same time, poultry farms warned about a decrease in production due to difficulties with logistics for the supply of foreign equipment and components.

“The difficult epidemiological situation has reduced the production of poultry meat and eggs to a certain extent in 2023," Svetlana Barsukova noted. “In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation has made such decision.” However, the import of chicken products from the CIS countries is not going to change the current prices. “Taking into account the increase in cost and changes in production and logistics processes that are taking place and will take place in 2024, prices for poultry meat and eggs have adapted to the current situation," she explained. According to her forecast, fluctuations will occur during this year and will finally stabilise by the end of 2024, she believes.

“On average, in 2023, the price level for raw chicken increased by 20%," Lyubov Savkina, CEO of the IMIT analytical agency, told Realnoe Vremya. But if we compare the current prices for chicken meat (i.e. from January 1 to February 20) with last year's (for the same period in 2023), then prices are higher within 30%, she noted. According to her, a significant increase in prices last year began from the 15th week of the year. “So, on average, in the first two months of this year, the GOST broiler chicken carcass in the wholesale link is by 29% more expensive than the average prices of the first two months of last year. Soup chickens have risen in price by 25% over the same period, chicken thigh — by 40%, shin — by almost 60%," Savkina said.

Agrosila will invest 4 billion rubles in Permskaya

In order to increase the production of poultry meat and eggs, Agrosila began the modernisation of the Permskaya poultry farm, which was purchased in April last year from the Prodo Group of Companies. The total investment programme provides for investments of 4 billion rubles until 2027. “Of these investments, 900 million rubles will be realised in 2024. We will send them for the reconstruction of poultry houses, the installation of a new ventilation system, the replacement of equipment and the start of construction of two new poultry houses," Svetlana Barsukova said. With their commissioning, by 2028 the factory is going to reach production volumes of 60 thousand tons of poultry meat in live weight. By the results of 2023, the holding produced 156.4 thousand tons of meat, of which 49.3 tons fell on the Perm site. The main production of Chelny-Broiler produced 126.4 thousand tons of poultry meat. “In total, 219.14 thousand tons of poultry meat were produced and sold in the republic in all categories of farms," the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan reported. "54 percent of poultry meat for slaughter in live weight is produced at the Chelny-Broiler poultry farm, 32 percent of poultry meat of the republic is produced in the Ak Bars poultry complexes. 64.5 thousand tons were produced there. At the Klyuchinskaya poultry farm, a branch of Ak Bars poultry production unit, which came to the site of the Zalesny agricultural company in March 2023, 1,680 tons of turkey meat were produced. The company plans to reach full capacity next year — 5.5 thousand tons. Peasant (farm) farms of the republic produced 11.3 thousand tons of meat, and 20 thousand tons in a private farmstead.”

This year, it is planned to produce 230 thousand tons of poultry meat, including 126.5 thousand tons in the Chelny-Broil. “Tatarstan fully provides itself with poultry meat, the security is 130%. There is no need to import products from outside," the press service of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Tatarstan said. Rosptitsprom reported that the demand for chicken increased to 35 kg per person against 31 kg per person.

5.1 billion investments for 2024

In total, this year it plans to invest more than 5 billion rubles in capacity modernisation. The largest funds — 1.6 billion rubles — will be spent on the construction of the second stage of a livestock complex for 4 thousand heads in the Sarmanovsky district of Tatarstan. The first stage for 2 thousand heads will be launched this year. With its introduction, the volume of milk production will increase to 50 thousand tons a year. The second largest investment will be the modernisation project of the Permskaya poultry farm, located in the Perm Region.

The third largest investment will be environmental protection structures. 765 million rubles will be allocated for the construction of local sewage treatment plants, the modernisation of the treatment facilities of the incubator and the construction of the Chelny-Broiler litter storage facility in Naberezhnye Chelny. Besides, it is planned to build treatment facilities of Agrosila-Moloko PLC, upgrade the fleet of agricultural machinery in the amount of 346 million rubles, construction of a building of household premises for Zainsky Sugar JSC worth 190 million rubles, technical re-equipment of a grain dryer and the reconstruction of a mill in Aktanyshskoye cereal receiving station JSC for 60 million rubles.

Plus an updated elevator in Naberezhnye Chelny

The agroholding finished 2023 with revenue of more than 57.88 billion rubles and net profit of more than 1.85 billion rubles, increasing profitability in the direction of deep processing and crop production, Svetlana Barsukova said. About 4.4 billion rubles, including VAT, were spent on the development of their own projects in 2023.

“In 2023, we continued the reconstruction of the capacity of the Naberezhnye Chelny elevator, its one-time grain storage increased to 145 thousand tons as a result. We also continued the construction of local sewage treatment plants located at the Naberezhnye Chelny-Broiler site. This year, in the second quarter, we put them into operation, as well as the new capacities of the Naberezhnye Chelny elevator. In addition, in 2023, the implementation of a project for the construction of a central warehouse for the storage of plant protection products, located on the territory of Kama agrofirm, began. It is planned to put this facility into operation in March 2024," Svetlana Barsukova noted.