Page 16 - RusRPTNov22

Against this background, the Russian feed additives market also lacks stability, noted Sergey Mikhnyuk, executive director of the Russian National Feed Union. “This is because unfriendly countries are restricting the passage of cargo to Russia, including feed additives. Most batches have been halted in the trans-shipment ports of Rotterdam, Hamburg, Brugge, and so on,” Mikhnyuk said, adding that feed additives are now being supplied by train from China but the capacity and rate of supply via this route is not enough to meet current demand.
In the long run, however, Russian poultry farmers would need to overcome their dependence on imported equipment. Larisa Kuvshinova, regional manager of Facco Rus, estimated that 80% of the installed equipment on Russian poultry farms was imported. However, most of it had been installed in the last 5 or 6 years and is fairly new, and thus the level of wear and tear level is still low.
Since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, Russian goods have been losing ground on foreign markets as Western groceries dumped Russian vodka, caviar and a broad range of other products. However, the boycott is not likely to hit Russian poultry exports, as Russian broiler meat primarily lands in the markets of countries deemed as friendly.
In 2021, poultry meat was exported to 50 countries worldwide, but 80% of its exports go to 5 countries: China, Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, the separatist regions of Ukraine and Vietnam, said Savkina. “These countries, as far as I know, did not impose sanctions on us and did not refuse to cooperate. The volume of exports, of course, may have decreased temporarily. We will know that later after the reporting of the federal customs service but there should not be a significant impact on the overall annual result,” said Savkina.
2.6 Is Russia threatened by the “Dutch disease”
Federal officials are concerned about the signs of the “Dutch disease” in the economy and so far see a way out in an increase in the burden on exporters, writes RBC.
There are signs of illness: a bloated current account surplus ($198.4bn in January-September, 2.6 times higher than last year) and a too strong ruble at 60 to the dollar, although back in June the authorities called the optimum 70-80 rubles.
But the disease is not classical. If in Holland in the 1970s, exports from the giant Groningen gas field led to rising inflation, unemployment, a revaluation of the currency and the fall of the manufacturing industry, in Russia the reason is the failure of imports due to sanctions.
“No one says this, and everyone is afraid to say it, but in general, our problem is that our exports and imports are not balanced and they need to be brought into line with each other,” RBC quotes a federal official. With foreign exchange earnings hard to spend due to sanctions, the only way to correct the imbalance
16 RUSSIA Country Report November 2022 www.intellinews.com