Russia: Bright future for domestic turkeys

Russia’s turkey meat market will increase five-fold over the next ten years, from the current 100,000 tonnes per year to 500,000 tonnes per year, according to Vadim Vaneev, CEO of Eurodon, the largest producer of turkey meat in Russia, in an interview with the paper Vedomosti.

“The Russian turkey market is evolving, and after 10 years it will increase to 500,000 tonnes from the current 100,000 tonnes. When I said that 10 years ago everybody just smiled,” Vadim Vaneev said.

“This year, global meat production will be 302 million tonnes, of that turkey meat will be 5.4 million tonnes. America is the largest turkey producer in the world they account for about 2.5 million tonnes of global production. The share of turkey meat in overall meat consumption is not more than 2%. And I think that turkey can and should have a minimum of 15-20%. Turkey meat is lean, it is very rich in protein and has a digestibility of about 95%, only mother’s milk is more digestible. It is the perfect food for athletes, and for the children,” Vadim Vaneev added.

“Our country has announced 35 new turkey projects. Clearly, not all of them will actually run. Where will they get their labour from? There is simply not the manpower available in Russia and everything centres around people. But despite the labour shortage, within two years the Russian market will be producing 250,000 tonnes of turkey meat. However, the country is not yet ready for this amount of turkey meat. We are not seriously engaged in the promotion of turkey. First, I think we need to run our project.”

According to Vadim Vaneev with the increase in volume to the market, the Russian consumers also will see a fall in prices.

“Now the amount of turkey on the market is small, that’s why prices for it are so high. Despite the high price turkey commands, it is in great demand,” he added.