Russia-Beef production.

RUSSIA-Russian Ministry of Agriculture to Increase Number of Regional Beef Production Development Programs up to 20

7 april 2009

Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation is planning to increase the number of regional programs on beef cattle development from 15 to 20. They will be financed from the federal budget.

Beef cattle development program which was started this year in Russia foresees annual subsidizing of 3.5 billion rubles in implementation of regional programs on beef cattle, plus 500m rubles in cattle breeding.

Russia will have to create the beef cattle breeding sector from the very beginning. Currently, culled cattle of dairy breeds are generally used in beef production in the Russian Federation, and there is a few animals of high-productive beef breeds in the country. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, beef cow stock was down from 1.5m to 452 thousand heads within 1991 – 2007. Beef production declined from 4.3m to 1.76m tons. At the same time beef imports was up to 791 thousand tons and totaled to 45% of domestic production.

Beef production for that period decreased from 29 to 12.5 kilograms per capita a year and per capita consumption reduced from 31 to 18 kilograms.

The program for 2009-2012 foresees increase of cattle livestock of special beef breeds from 452 to 800 thousand heads, including breeding animals - from 143 to 500 thousand heads. For strengthening the breeding stock Russia will import not less than 50 thousand heads of young stock each year.